Homemade Frozen Bouillon

What a perfect day-after-Thanksgiving. D had to work; I slept in, and when I woke up, I turned NPR on in every room in the apartment. (D hates NPR, so you can't imagine what a luxury this was). The only thing on my to-do list? Make turkey stock. D clued me into this very interesting (and space saving!) idea for what to do with the stock: make frozen turkey bouillon.

This was the most expensive turkey I've ever had, so I was determined to use every last bit of it.

We started boiling the two carcasses from our main turkey (about 20 lbs.) and our 10 lb. turkey breast last night shortly after some of the dishes were cleared. We boiled it until we went to bed at around 1:30 am, and then left it on the stove, covered. I turned it back on at around 10 am, brought it to a rolling boil and boiled it until all of the meat fell off the bone. I let it sit, and then strained the liquid from the bones and meat. I boiled the liquid down for about 2 hours to a concentrated thick stock and cooled it off. I poured the liquid into two ice cube trays and stuck em in the freezer. I now have 24 cubes of frozen bouillon that I can use for various dishes for the next few months. I also have about 32 ounces of turkey meat that we'll use for croquettes!

I used one of the cubes to enrich the soup I made for the next day.

Two-Days-After-Thanksgiving Soup

2 carrots (slightly wilted)
3 stalks of celery
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper
1 homemade bouillon cube
1 cup of fresch stock
6 cups of water
1 cup of pearl barley

Chop up the veggies. Sautee the onions and garlic in a little bit of olive oil, seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper. Add the carrots and celery and saute until tender. Throw it all in a pot with the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil and then simmer for about an hour. Serve steaming hot with toasted bread.