Cooking and Canning Homemade Turkey stock - PART 2

I am brimming with satisfaction! But not without having first suffered some serious self-doubt and a few 'will my kitchen blow up' fears.

I love my pressure canner - but it is a little intimidating. A lot intimidating, actually. It's large, heavy, and could explode if i didn't treat it right. That being said, canning my gorgeous turkey stock went pretty well - but with a few impasses.

The stock cooked down delightfully - i simmered it for an extra long time and was rewarded with some golden gelatin. With the fat skimmed off, the stock is pure goodness: rich, thick, gelatinous goodness. Some of the health benefits of gelatin include:

• Gelatin appears to be beneficial to athletes for muscle growth and metabolism.
• Gelatin promotes a feeling of fullness.
• Gelatin helps maintain regularity
• Gelatin's high collagen protein content helps keep your skin smooth and firm. Many creams contain collagen to moisturize the skin but it is more effective when taken through food.
• Gelatin strengthens the hair, keeping it looking shiny and healthy.
• Gelatin is also excellent for the nails because it makes them stronger, so they do not break easily.
• Gelatin is excellent for your bones because of its high concentration of glycoprotein and proline amino acids. If you have a deficiency in both amino acids, you can have joint pain. When it is taken orally, it travels directly to your blood and from there; it goes to its destination, the connective tissue. By adding at least 10 grams of gelatin to your regular diet, your joints will quickly regenerate in case you overexert yourself.  -hubpages.com

I also remember reading in Nourishing Traditions about the benefits of gelatin in assisting in the absorption of more nutrients when eating food.

Enough about gelatin and more about my canner:   The first time i used it, i carefully followed every little instruction in my various canning books. This time i tried to remember on my own - but also referenced the books. I heated my jars in the dishwasher, i put about 2 inches of water in the canner and brought to a simmer. I simmered my lids for 10 minutes at least, and was careful to wipe the rims of the jars with vinegar to remove any grease that may have touched there. All went well - but i didn't wash the canner and its lid with soapy water - just wiped it and put on new petroleum jelly along the seal.

After filling all 6 (or 7?) pints, there was a little bit left - about 2 pints worth - which i froze. Next time I'll know that an absolutely full pan of stock is a little more than 6 pints and will cook it down further, or plan on freezing some.

A few minutes into processing, i noticed my lid wasn't on totally straight, freaked out, and turned off the heat to reposition the lid. Second time around the lid still wasn't on straight and water and steam started spurting out! Frightened me! I did some research but figured i would just risk depressurizing vs explosion so went ahead and continued processing. I had to dodge spitting hot steam while working on some other crafts, but i think everything went fine.  All but one of the jars sealed right away, and when i tested the seals that one jar was totally not sealed in the least - so i just poured it into ice cube trays to be frozen.

Next time i will be sure to wash the canner's lid better, and to be sure the layer of petroleum jelly is even. But aren't they pretty?:

Playing with hot metal explosive devices can be scary - but prudence and patience lead to success.

Do you have any scary kitchen stories?

Cooking and Canning Homemade Turkey stock - PART 1

I find it deeply satisfying to purchase a scant $7 of turkey necks and turn them, along with a few pieces of organic produce (both purchased and homegrown) into a big batch of stock, plus a meaty casserole or lunch meat salad. I use every tiny bit of usable food to feed my whole family: both the humans and the chickens. Yes, you can feed chickens poultry with zero fear of 'cross contamination' or anything else wierd. If it's edible for humans, it's edible for chickens. Pecking at bones is a great way for my bird daughters to 'bone up' (har har) on their calcium, and the grosser meat scraps are perfectly palatable for them.

So here's my stock:

• 2 packages turkey necks. I'd like to think they were responsibly grown, but i really don't know. Stock is one of those things i will buy 'slavery poultry' for, as i'm cheap out of necessity.
• 2 onions
• 5 or so fresh bay leaves from my lovely bay tree
• some salt and pepper
• a few gross cabbage leaves not worth eating in any other dish
• several celery stalks
• woops, i forgot to put garlic in there - oh well.

That's it - just throw those things in a pot, bring to a boil, cover and simmer ALL DAY stirring occasionally to break the meat off the bones.

I let the stock pot sit out all night - i always wonder the dangers of this. That definitely puts the food in the 'danger zone' (certain temperature parameters deemed unsafe by the food Lords of the USA) that could breed bacteria, but since i bring the stock back to a boil before eating it i figure we're okay.
The next morning i lift out the chunks into a colander or salad spinner - pour the liquid through a strainer into a smaller pot. I then (while wearing my apron) separate all the edible chunks of meat from the other gross slurry and save that in a pyrex for some other meaty dish.

Next, as i like to use EVERY LAST BIT OF GOODNESS, i pour very hot water over the gunk in the colander to get the last of the good juices and gelatin to pour out. I pour that through a strainer into the smaller pot which then goes into the fridge for the day.

The rinsed pile of onion/bone/fat/meat goo goes out to the compost heap to feed the delighted chooks (and hopefully not choke them to death) as well as quite a few mice and other nasty beasts i don't want to know visit my compost heap.

Once the fat has hardened, i skim it off and heat the stock back up in readiness to be canned.
So, there's the stock. Next up: Canning turkey stock.

The Last Turkey Soup - Make it Better!

So it's a week or so after Thanksgiving. We've feasted. We've had turkey sandwiches. We've had turkey soup or pot pie. We're tired of turkey soup, but there's still some left in that big ole pot in the fridge. What to do with it?

I puzzled over this quandary last night and scrimcoached something highly delectable (and certainly another factor in my increasing winter chub - really? pasta and sausage for dinner? Too many carbs, but too delicious not to have seconds)

My base turkey soup consisted mainly of turkey carcass cooked for about 6 hours with onions, bay leaves, salt, pepper, jalapenos, whatever else you add to stock. Turkey Soup II night added some squash, hominy, leftover spinach noodles, some cabbage. You get the idea, it's turkey soup with veggies to my liking. By day 4 or so all that was left was mostly just turkey stock and way cooked down veggies. How to transform this boring soup into a deliciously addictive cold night glop of yum?? Here's how:

Add 2 chicken sausage links, halfed long ways then chopped into small chunks. Add another fresh chopped jalapeno or two. Once the soup has boiled a bit, turn down and simmer for a few minutes. Near ready to eat time add some orzo - i think i used about a cup or so. Also add a large spoonful of tomato paste, about 1/3 a small can and stir in. Cook until the orzo is cooked to soft but not total mush and turn off heat. The orzo swells and is cooked with turkey stock instead of plain water and is thus intensely flavorful and rich. Serve in large bowls and top with some shredded mozz and cheddar. OH Man this is good. Salt to taste.... and your seconds will be even yummier because the orzo will continue to swell and fill with flavorful goodness.

no pics, we consumed it promptly and the recipe was too nebulous to really count as a 'recipe' per say - but i just had to share this with you, and write it down for my future rememberings. It's all about the orzo and the tomato paste - the sausage isn't bad either ;)