Turkey broth is a low-acid food. The only research-tested way to make it shelf-stable is pressure canning: heat the strained broth to a boil, pack it hot with 1 inch of headspace, and process 20 minutes for pints or 25 minutes for quarts. Those minutes stay the same at every altitude. What changes with elevation is the pressure on the canner, not the clock.
A leftover carcass is worth the work. One bird often yields several quarts of broth you can use for soup, gravy, rice, stuffing, and braises without buying boxed stock. The canning step itself is short. Most of the time is simmering, straining, and skimming fat so the jars seal and the flavor holds.
Why Turkey Broth Must Be Pressure Canned
Broth sits in the same safety category as meat, beans, and most vegetables. It is not acidic enough for a boiling-water bath to kill Clostridium botulinum spores. A water-bath canner never gets hot enough, no matter how long you boil the jars.
A pressure canner raises the temperature of the jar contents well above boiling. That is the method the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) publishes for chicken or turkey stock. Electric multi-cookers, including Instant Pots, can make the broth. They are not approved pressure canners for storing that broth on a pantry shelf. Freeze the extra if you do not have a stovetop pressure canner.
Half-gallon jars are not approved for this product. Use pints or quarts only.
What You Can Put in the Jars (and What Changes the Process)
This is the decision most leftover recipes skip. Processing time depends on what is actually in the jar, not on what you called the pot.
| What is in the jar | Process as | Pint time | Quart time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strained turkey broth or stock, fat skimmed, only tiny meat specks | Meat stock | 20 min | 25 min |
| Brothy soup, jars no more than half full of solids | Soup | 60 min | 75 min |
| Turkey pieces in broth, no bones | Poultry, boneless | 75 min | 90 min |
| Turkey pieces in broth, with bones | Poultry, with bones | 65 min | 75 min |
The stock times in this article apply only to hot, strained liquid. If you pack chunks of meat, vegetables, rice, noodles, or a thick soup, use the matching tested recipe instead. Do not add flour, cornstarch, cream, milk, or other thickeners before canning. Thicken after you open the jar.
Ball and Bernardin books allow aromatics such as onion, carrot, celery, and peppercorns in the stockpot. Those go in for flavor and come back out with the bones. They do not stay in the jar when you are using stock processing times.
Equipment and Ingredients
Equipment
- Stovetop pressure canner with a rack (dial-gauge or weighted-gauge)
- Pint or quart canning jars, new lids, and rings
- Large stockpot
- Fine-mesh strainer, and cheesecloth if you want a clearer broth
- Jar lifter, funnel, bubble remover or thin spatula
- Clean damp paper towels for wiping rims
Have the dial gauge on a dial-gauge canner checked once a year. A gauge that reads low under-processes the food.
Ingredients
- Turkey carcass and bones (roasted leftover bird, raw backbone and wingtips, or a mix)
- Cold water to cover
- Optional, strained out before canning: onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, parsley stems, whole peppercorns
- Optional: canning salt, added lightly or not at all
Skip broccoli, cabbage, and other brassicas. They turn stock bitter. Potatoes make it cloudy. A splash of vinegar while simmering is a cooking choice, not a safety substitute for pressure canning.
A 12- to 20-pound roasted bird commonly yields about 4 to 7 quarts after straining and reducing, depending on pot size and how long the liquid simmers.
How to Make Turkey Broth Worth Canning
The official NCHFP stock method is short: cover picked carcass bones with water, simmer 30 to 45 minutes until remaining meat falls off, remove the bones, cool, skim fat, reheat to boiling, and pack.
A longer simmer is a flavor choice, not a different canning process. Many cooks simmer 3 to 8 hours for more body. Either way, the jar still has to be filled with boiling, strained, defatted broth.
1. Strip the carcass
Pull off usable meat and refrigerate or freeze it for other meals. Leave small clinging bits if you want them in the finished stock. Break the carcass so it fits the pot.
Roasting the bones at about 400°F for 30 to 45 minutes first is optional. It darkens the color and adds a toasted flavor. A raw or already-roasted holiday carcass both work.
2. Cover and simmer
Put bones in a stockpot. Add water to cover by 1 to 2 inches. Add any aromatics you plan to strain out. Bring to a boil, then drop to a gentle simmer. A hard rolling boil emulsifies fat and makes cloudy broth.
Skim foam early if you want a cleaner look. Keep bones covered; add hot water if the level drops.
An Instant Pot or slow cooker can handle this simmering stage. When the broth is done, you still move it to a pressure canner for the jars.
3. Strain completely
Lift out the bones and vegetables. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer. For a clearer jar, line the strainer with cheesecloth and strain again. No bones belong in the finished jars.
If you want those last shreds of meat in the stock, pick them off the bones and return only tiny trimmings. Larger pieces turn the product into canned poultry, which needs a much longer process.
4. Cool and skim the fat
NCHFP directs you to cool the broth and discard excess fat before reheating. Overnight in the refrigerator is the cleanest method: the fat rises and sets into a cap you can lift off.
Fat left in the jar can interfere with the lid seal and go rancid in storage. A thin sheen is common. A thick layer is a quality problem.
Cool the pot quickly and safely. Divide hot broth into shallow containers, or set the pot in an ice-water sink and stir, so it does not sit in the temperature danger zone for hours.
Deep-fried turkey carcasses need extra attention. Fryer oil left in the broth tastes stale after months on the shelf. Chill and scrape thoroughly.
5. Reheat to a full boil
Canning stock is a hot pack. Cold broth in the jars is not the tested method. Bring the skimmed liquid back to a rolling boil and keep it boiling while you fill.
Taste before you salt. Light seasoning keeps the broth useful in recipes that already contain salt. Many cooks add none at this stage.
Pressure Canning Steps
Wash jars, lids, and rings in hot soapy water. Inspect rims for chips. Keep jars hot until filling. For this processing time, you do not need a separate boiling-water sterilization step if the jars will process at least 10 minutes, which they will.
- Put the canner rack in place and add the amount of water your canner manual specifies, usually 2 to 3 inches.
- Ladle boiling broth into hot jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
- Remove air bubbles. Recheck headspace.
- Wipe rims with a damp clean paper towel. Grease on the rim is a common reason lids fail.
- Apply lids and rings fingertip-tight. Do not crank them down.
- Load jars onto the rack. Lock the lid.
- Vent steam in a steady stream for 10 minutes before weighting or closing the petcock.
- Bring the canner to the pressure for your gauge type and altitude. Start the timer only when that pressure is reached.
- Process 20 minutes (pints) or 25 minutes (quarts). If pressure drops below the target, bring it back up and restart the full time.
- Turn off the heat. Let pressure return to zero on its own. Do not run cold water over the canner.
- Wait about 10 minutes after the gauge reads zero, then open the lid away from you.
- Lift jars out. Leave them upright and undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.
Do not retighten rings while the jars cool. After 12 to 24 hours, check seals: the lid should be concave and should not flex. Remove the rings, wash the jars, label with the date, and store without the rings.
Unsealed jars go in the refrigerator and should be used within a few days, or frozen.
Pressure Chart for Turkey Broth
Altitude changes pressure, not minutes.
Dial-gauge canner
| Elevation | Pints (20 min) | Quarts (25 min) |
|---|---|---|
| 0–2,000 ft | 11 lb | 11 lb |
| 2,001–4,000 ft | 12 lb | 12 lb |
| 4,001–6,000 ft | 13 lb | 13 lb |
| 6,001–8,000 ft | 14 lb | 14 lb |
Weighted-gauge canner
| Elevation | Pints (20 min) | Quarts (25 min) |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1,000 ft | 10 lb | 10 lb |
| Above 1,000 ft | 15 lb | 15 lb |
Look up your elevation by town or ZIP code if you are unsure. Weighted canners jump from 10 to 15 pounds; there is no 11- or 12-pound weight on most models.
Pint or Quart Jars
Quarts suit soup and stew bases. Pints suit gravy, risotto, cooking grains, and single-pot meals. Use the time that matches the jar you filled. Do not process quarts for the pint time to “save minutes.”
Headspace that is much deeper than 1 inch often means the broth was not boiling hot, the jars siphoned during a pressure swing, or the jars were underfilled. Siphoning is usually a quality issue if the lid still sealed. Too little headspace can force liquid under the lid and prevent a seal.
What Finished Jars Usually Look Like
Home-canned turkey broth is rarely as clear as boxed stock. Expect some of the following, none of which mean the jar failed if the seal is sound and the canning process was correct:
- Fine sediment or “silt” on the bottom (proteins and minerals)
- A small fat ring at the top
- Cloudiness from a vigorous boil or from not straining finely
- Darker color if the carcass was roasted or the skin was included
A dark ring or floaters of coagulated protein are common talking points after Thanksgiving batches. They are unattractive, not a spoilage diagnosis by themselves.
How to Store and When to Throw a Jar Away
Store sealed jars in a cool, dark, dry place. Best quality is generally within a year. A jar that remains sealed can last longer, but flavor and color fade.
After opening, refrigerate and use within about 4 days.
Discard without tasting if:
- The lid is bulging, leaking, or unsealed
- Liquid spurts out when opened
- The contents smell off, look moldy, or are unusually slimy
- The jar is cracked or the lid is badly corroded
Botulism toxin has no reliable home “taste test.” When a low-acid jar is in doubt, throw it out. Do not feed questionable broth to pets either.
Common Mistakes That Ruin a Batch
Water-bath canning the jars. This is the most dangerous shortcut. Broth is not jam.
Canning in an Instant Pot. Use it to extract the stock. Move the hot, strained liquid to a pressure canner.
Leaving a heavy fat layer. Skim. Fat fights seals and goes stale.
Packing soup and processing it like stock. Vegetables, meat chunks, rice, and noodles slow heat penetration. Use soup or poultry times.
Starting the timer before the canner is at pressure. Vent 10 minutes, reach pressure, then time 20 or 25 minutes.
Force-cooling the canner. Sudden temperature drops cause siphoning and broken jars.
Oversalting “to preserve it.” Salt is for flavor. Pressure and time are what make the food safe.
Using half-gallon jars or chipped rims. Neither belongs in this process.
If You Do Not Own a Pressure Canner
Freeze the broth. Cool it, skim the fat, then freeze in jars (leave extra headspace), freezer boxes, or flat bags. Frozen broth keeps quality for months and avoids the safety limits of water-bath canning. Refrigerated broth is a short-term option only, not a pantry method.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is turkey stock canned the same way as turkey broth? Yes, if both are strained meat liquids with fat removed. The NCHFP process is labeled chicken or turkey stock and uses the same times for this style of product.
Can I leave vegetables in the jar? Not if you are using the 20- and 25-minute stock times. Strain them out, or switch to a tested soup process and the longer times that go with solids.
Can I can broth from a smoked or deep-fried turkey? Yes, using the same pressure process after a thorough strain and fat skim. Smoked birds make a stronger stock. Fried birds need more defatting so leftover oil does not dominate the flavor in storage.
Why did my jars lose liquid? Rapid pressure changes, overfilling, or rings that were too tight. If the lid sealed and the jar was processed correctly, the broth is still usable. Top off after opening if you need the full volume for a recipe.
Do I have to simmer only 30 to 45 minutes? That is the official extraction time in the NCHFP stock directions. A longer simmer is widely used for body and gelatin. It does not replace skimming, boiling the pack, or pressure canning.
How much salt should I add? None is required for safety. If you salt, keep it modest so the broth works in gravy and soup later. Use canning or kosher salt rather than iodized if you want a cleaner look.
Canned turkey broth is one of the highest-return projects after a roast bird: short processing time, flexible seasoning, and a pantry ingredient you will actually use. Follow the stock process only for strained liquid, match pressure to your gauge and altitude, and treat anything with chunks in the jar as a different recipe.