Smoked Turkey Broth

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This is my year-after-year go-to technique for making turkey broth. Smoked turkey wings make an absolutely delightful smoked turkey broth that, with just a few more ingredients added, makes a gravy that is perfect for Thanksgiving turkey. It is also a great substitute for chicken broth in soups. The smoked turkey adds the perfect lightly-smoky flavor, all in a very rich broth. You could just eat it out of a bowl by itself.

You’ll get about 8 cups of smoked turkey broth when you are done. You can find turkey wings that already smoked in some grocery stores. You can use them instead of smoking your own, but you may want to get more than 4 of them. They tend to be smaller. As you can tell from the picture above I grabbed the largest fresh turkey wings I could find and then smoked them at home. It’s very easy and well, cool looking.

I prefer to use fruit or nut woods when I smoke unless I want a heavier smoke flavor. Pecan, apple or cherry are my favorites. I used apple to smoke the turkey for this recipe.

Weber Pecan Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

Weber Apple Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

Weber Cherry Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

If you prefer to roast your turkey wings instead and use them to make a broth, check out my holiday make-ahead gravy recipe.

You can also make this broth using roasted turkey wings or legs.

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Smoked Turkey Broth

This is my year-after-year go-to technique for making turkey broth. Smoked turkey wings make an absolutely delightful smoked turkey broth that, with just a few more ingredients added, makes a gravy that is perfect for Thanksgiving turkey. 

Course Sauce

Cuisine American

Keyword broth, smoked, turkey

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 hours hours

Total Time 5 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 4 quarts

Calories 384kcal

Author Mike

Ingredients

For the smoked turkey wings

• 4 large turkey wings

For the stock

• 8 ribs celery
• 2 onions quartered
• 1 head garlic cloves removed but not peeled
• 10 whole peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 quarts of water more or less

Instructions

For the smoked turkey wings

• Fire up your smoker for cooking at 250 F. Use a wood such as hickory. You’ll want plenty of smoke.
• Place the wings onto the smoker. No need to season them.
• Smoke for approximately 2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 165 F.
• Remove from the smoker and make the stock.

For the broth

• Place all of the ingredients along with the wings into a large stock pot.
• Add enough water to just cover everything.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and simmer for at least an hour, up to 4 hours, until the turkey meat is falling off the bone. Add more water if needed.
• Let cool completely then filter the broth through a sieve.
• You can use the broth immediately but I prefer to refrigerate it overnight first. This lets all of the fat coagulate on top, making it easy to remove before using the broth.

Notes

You’ll end up with much more broth than is required to make 3 cups of gravy. Freeze the leftover broth or double or triple the gravy recipe if you desire.

Nutrition

Calories: 384kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 120mg | Sodium: 162mg | Potassium: 732mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 384IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

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