The reality is that I was just a bit intimidated. It sure seemed like a lot of work just for some chicken broth. Am I right?
But the times they are a changing! You may all know by now that we only eat organic meats. Eh- or maybe you don't. But for my family, that means that a small, whole roast chicken costs $20. Yikes! As a result, we simply don't eat as much meat because we can't afford to. However, now that I'm spending $20 on a chicken, you best believe I use every single part of it.
Waste not, want not.
For the purpose of this post- I'm using my leftover Christmas turkey. Because well- it's just 4 days after Christmas and I have GOT to get this turkey business handled. Here's how I turn one, 15 pound turkey into several months worth of food for my family, 6 months worth of fresh broth and 1 months worth of dog food for my 2 beloved furry babies.
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| Turn one turkey into turkey broth, turkey meat & dog food! |
Step 1-
- Carve all the good, edible meat from the turkey. Put in ziploc bag labeled "People Turkey" and don't forget to date it. Store in the freezer. This meat will be used for turkey pot pies, turkey noodle soup, turkey tortilla soup- etc. For my family, this will last us several months since we so rarely eat meat.
- Pull the remaining meat off the bone that you will not eat and put in a ziploc bag labeled "Puppy Turkey" and again, don't forget to date it. Stick this in the freezer too! I usually have enough puppy turkey to make 2-3 weeks worth of dinners for our 2 dogs.
Step 2-- Throw everything else into a large stockpot and fill with water. And I'm talking EVERYTHING! The fresh herbs you cooked inside the turkey, the lemons, garlic, onion, the bones, the skin- everything. Then add 6 large carrots, 4 celery stalks, 1 head of garlic (just cut in half, no need to peel), 1 onion- quartered, another lemon- cut in half and fresh cracked pepper and sea salt. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cook for several hours.
- Once your turkey bones and veggies have cooked for a few hours on low, turn it off and let it cool for at least an hour.
Step 3-
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| Fill ice cube trays with broth & freeze |
- Now comes the fun part! Get your strainer and pour the liquid into a large measuring cup or basically anything you can pour out of. Then fill up ice cube trays with your strained broth. Pop the ice cube trays into the freezer.
- Allow the broth cubes to freeze and then simply pop them out and put into a ziploc bag labeled "Broth Cubes" and you guessed it- don't forget to date it!
- When you have a recipe that calls for chicken or veggie broth, simply take some of these broth cubes out of the freezer and add some water. Add 2 cubes to 1 cup water to make 1 cup of liquid broth.
Step 4-
- The remaining veggies and meat pieces are going to be turned into dog food. I do this all by hand so that I don't accidentally put a bone into the dog food. NEVER FEED YOUR DOGS THE BONES!
- Separate the tiny bits of leftover meat, smush up the veggies and mix all together into a bowl. I usually end up with about 6 cups worth of meat and veggies. When it's time to feed your dogs, simply add 1/2 cup of this mixture to dry food. Or this can also be added to brown rice, pasta, lentils- etc. My dogs love it and homemade dog food is so much better for them!
The leftovers from your broth,
makes great dog food!
What always amazes me about this process is exactly how much meat is still left on the bones after I think I've cut all the good meat off. There's SO much edible meat here, you'll be surprised! And if you noticed- I have used almost all of this turkey. Even the veggies I used to make my homemade turkey broth get used!
And there you have it. Super easy to do, if a little time consuming. But well worth it for sure!
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