Friday, December 4, 2015

Note: Turkey Broth and Soup

This is just a note to myself so I will remember what I did concerning the turkey scraps.  After Thanksgiving, I had the bones and scraps from three large turkeys.  That yielded 21 quarts of rich turkey broth.  There was also enough broth for a stock pot full of turkey, vegetable and rice soup.  I had a couple of meals from that and canned the rest.  That gave me 12 pints of soup.  One pint is enough for a meal with homemade bread or cornbread.  Rice doesn't can well as it tends to turn a bit mushy, but I canned the soup anyway.  Waste not - want not, as my mother used to say.  Along with the meat Son took home from his turkey and the meat from mine that I froze, I'd say we got a lot of mileage out of those turkeys.

I have made turkey or chicken broth before and stored it in the freezer.  But right now my chest freezer is full to the top - mostly with that 50 lbs. of cranberries I bought at the Farmer's Market to make into juice.  I ran across a recipe the other day for cranberry jelly or jam that I think I will try to see how I like it.  But I really need to quit being lazy and get busy processing those berries.  I could use the freezer space!

8 comments:

  1. I buy broth at the store for the dog food. I can't remember the last time I actually cooked with it for myself. I like bullion, those little cubes of chicken or beef, I make a drink with it. Probably, now that I think about it, broth would be better for that.

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  2. Harry...I use the little bouillon cubes too, as well as the powdered bouillon. But for me, making my own broth is kind of a bonus. It isn't free as I use gas to cook and can it, but even at that, it is still much cheaper than buying it. I use it in dishes that call for water - like sage stuffing or maybe chicken gravy - just for more flavor or as a soup base. Just another handy food for storage.

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  3. I love the little boullion cubes for a quick hot drink, but homemade broth just adds so much to anything that needs liquid. I am currently avoiding my stove after the marathon of canning the produce auction haul! I have bones and carcasses in the deep freeze to make broth with and that will start this week.

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  4. Fiona...I completely understand avoiding the stove. :) There are days when I don't even want to look at another jar or pressure canner. But at the rate we as a nation are sliding downhill, it just seems foolish for me not to preserve whatever I possibly can. Those 12 pints of turkey soup are 12 meals for someone. I can't garden or raise animals, so the more I can, the longer my family will survive. But then I don't need to tell you that, do I!!

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  5. vicki,
    apropos of nothing today's post, have you ever canned store bought ketchup?
    i found one on thee shelf that had a sell by date exactly 2 years ago. it looks darker than the new ones, AND THE PLASTIC JAR IS SPLITTING INTO TWO LAYERS.
    OTHER THAN BEING DARKER THE KETCHUP LOOKS OKAY.
    [sorry-cap key too close to 'a'.]
    haven't opened it.
    daughter says toss, and possible plastic contamination by now.

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  6. Deb...I have bought ketchup in #10 cans or in gallon sized plastic jugs and re-canned it in pint jars. I just used the canning directions for homemade ketchup. It turned out just fine. If I had the ketchup bottle you described, I think I would toss it. I have heard of ketchup going bad while stored in plastic, but not in glass jars. I don't think it would be worth taking a chance on a plastic bottle that is coming apart.

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  7. vicki,
    thanks. i will toss. afraid to open it, really.
    after i saw the plastic layers parting i began to worry about the rest of the ketchup, which is still good.
    i have some small jars, so i hope to try your method.
    thanks again.
    i don't have much in plastic but the vinegar is in plastic, though it is much sturdier. wonder about leaching plastic chemicals even if stored in moderate temps.
    deb

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  8. Deb...I haven't researched the effects of foods in plastic containers for long term food storage, but have read on blogs and seen a couple of homesteading type videos concerning ketchup spoilage when left in the plastic bottles. My local store just ran a sale on ketchup and I ordered a dozen bottles - plastic. I will be emptying those into a stock pot, heating the ketchup and re-canning it in pint jars using the hot water bath method for 15 minutes. The ketchup might be perfectly good stored in the original plastic bottles, but I just can't afford to take the chance. I really wish that companies used glass containers the way they did years ago.

    I don't know about you, but I would really rather make my own ketchup so I knew for sure what is in it. Not being able to have a garden sort of puts a crimp in that idea, although if our world doesn't come crashing down before next summer, (not looking real good, is it!) I might just have to go ahead and get enough tomatoes at the Farmers Market to do just that.

    I don't know about vinegar. I have had gallon jugs of vinegar stored for a couple of years with no problems. That's something I might have to check into.

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