Turkey Stock

On Thanksgiving, we always fry our turkey. You can't beat the flavor of a fried turkey, but one drawback is that there are no pan juices for making gravy. My answer is to make homemade turkey stock. This can be prepared a few days before Thanksgiving and stored in the refrigerator. When added to a roux, it makes a flavorful gravy.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons canola oil
Some combination of turkey legs, thighs or wings - 3 or 4 total
1 large carrot - peeled and cut into 3-inch chunks
2 celery stalks, leaves and all, cut into 3-inch pieces
1 large onion, cut in half
Water
2 bay leaves
Several sprigs of parsley
Several sprigs of fresh thyme
4 garlic cloves
12 peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Instructions

In a cast iron skillet, heat olive oil. Add turkey, carrots, celery and onion. Turn with tongs one or twice and brown until turkey and vegetables are deeply browned and caramelized. This may take about 25 minutes.
Place the browned turkey and vegetables into a stock pot. Add water to skillet to deglaze, scraping up browned bits. Add to stock pot. Cover what is in the stock pot with sufficient cold water to cover everything by 2 inches. Add bay leaves, parsley, thyme, garlic, peppercorns and salt. Bring to boil and then turn down heat to a low simmer. Allow to simmer for 2 - 3 hours. Add more water is needed and skim any foam that develops on top.
Add lemon juice. Stir very lightly.
In is important not to allow the stock to boil vigorously. This will cause the stock to be turbid.
Allow to cool to room temperature. Then, strain through cheesecloth. Discard the solids and refrigerate the stock for up to three days in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.