Stock and broth are more or less the same thing, a mixture of any combination of meats (including poultry or seafood), bones, vegetables or herbs simmered in a large quantity of water, then strained.
You can use either stock or broth for keeping dressing moist or as a basis for gravy, but a strong flavor will give you better results. The strength of the flavor depends on how the mixture was prepared: the quantities and proportions of the ingredients, amount of water used, whether the meats or bones or vegetables were roasted before simmering, and how long the mixture was simmered.
Chefs rely on stock as an ingredient in itself: the basis for other soups, stews, gravies and sauces, using it instead of water for steaming, even putting it into salad dressings and co*cktails. Stock can be weak or strong in flavor, depending on what the chef requires and how much effort is put into making it. The cans or cartons of broth that we see in the markets have a medium-strong flavor that makes them suitable for serving as a finished soup.
When you see a recipe that calls for "stock or broth," what it is really saying is "homemade or canned." Which one you choose depends on your inclinations. Though I keep a supply of homemade stock in my freezer, I often use broth from cans or cartons (usually labeled broth but, confusingly, may also be labeled stock) for my everyday cooking. Canned broth can be simmered to reduce it and strengthen the flavor, if you think it's a bit too weak for your purposes. The best trick to boosting flavor from canned chicken broth is to simmer the bones of a (purchased) roasted chicken in it for an hour.
At Thanksgiving, though, I make my own stock. I always roast two turkeys, preparing a small one the day before Thanksgiving. After removing the meat from that turkey (setting it aside for leftover sandwiches), I simmer the bones with herbs and vegetables to make a strongly-flavored stock for my favorite gravy, Mark Bittman's Make-Ahead Gravy. If that seems extreme — and perhaps it is — turkey broth/stock from the supermarket will work perfectly well.
FAQs
Butterball® Turkey Talk-Line®
Call 1-800-BUTTERBALL or text 844-877-3456 to chat with our turkey experts.
When did Butterball Hotline start? ›
Home of the Butterball® Turkey Talk-Line®
It all began in 1981, when six home economists worked the phones that holiday season to answer about 11,000 turkey-cooking questions. Since then, the Turkey Talk-Line has grown, both in number of calls answered and experts responding.
What is the Butterball turkey talk-line's most frequent question? ›
No one seems to know how to thaw a turkey in America. Every year, around 100,000 people call the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line to ask their most burning question: how the heck do I thaw this thing?
What company owns Butterball? ›
Seaboard Corporation bought Smithfield's stake in Butterball in 2010. The company sells over one billion pounds of turkey a year. Though the Butterball brand has been formally recognized since 1940, Butterball LLC was formed in 2006. In Canada, the rights to Butterball are owned by Exceldor Foods Ltd.
Who can you call if you have turkey-related questions on Thanksgiving? ›
Food experts recommend a food thermometer to guide you on when your bird is ready to eat. If you still have questions about your turkey, the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline is up and running and ready to help you. Call the experts at 1-888-674-6854. They are even open on Thanksgiving Day to help you.
What is turkey call now? ›
Turkey adopted its official name, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, known in English as the Republic of Turkey or more commonly known as Turkey, upon the declaration of the republic on 29 October 1923. In 2021, however, via the UN, Turkey changed its spelling to Türkiye.
What company has had a turkey talk line open for nearly 40 years? ›
For more than 40 years, the Butterball Turkey Talk Line has been answering phone calls from frantic would-be chefs on the precipice of disaster.
How many calls does Butterball get on Thanksgiving? ›
The Turkey Talk-Line has more than 50 staffers who answers questions from both English- and Spanish-speaking callers. On Thanksgiving, there will be about 10,000 calls, texts and chats.
Is Butterball turkey real turkey? ›
Farm to Family by Butterball ground turkey breast is our leanest ground turkey. Made with premium white meat turkey, this fresh ground turkey breast is all-natural* and responsibly raised with no added hormones or steroids and no antibiotics ever**.
What is the Butterball controversy? ›
During an undercover investigation at a Butterball slaughterhouse in Ozark, Arkansas, PETA investigators documented that Butterball workers punched and stomped on live turkeys, slammed them against walls, and worse.
In both cases, you'll want to store the turkey in the deepest part of the freezer. When properly stored, raw turkey pieces should stay good in the freezer for up to 9 months, while whole raw turkeys last for a year when frozen. Cooked turkey pieces last in the freezer for 4–6 months.
Why is a Butterball turkey so juicy? ›
Butterball turkeys are of the highest quality product and will be sure to impress your guests. Here's why Butterball is the right choice, especially for the holiday season: Butterball turkeys are always tender and juicy because we take the extra step of individually pre-brining them based on size.
Why are there no Butterball turkeys? ›
The problem, according to spokeswoman Stephanie Llorente, is "a decline in weight gains on some of our farms." Specifically, there's a shortage of fresh turkeys weighing 16 pounds or more.
Where is Butterball headquarters? ›
Is Butterball turkey already buttered? ›
In fact, there is no actual butter in or on a Butterball turkey. The fresh turkeys are injected with a basting solution made of salt water and “common household spices,” one brand representative told me. Butterball will not share the ingredients of its secret basting formula.
Is there a How to Cook a turkey Hotline? ›
"The breast, you want that to get to 170. The thigh meat you want to get to 180. And if you do stuff it, you need to make sure the stuffing in the center of the stuffing gets to 165." You can reach the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line by calling 1-800-BUTTERBALL or texting 844-877-3456.
What is the turkey number activity? ›
To play, you will need two “turkeys,” a die and one number line. I have my students roll the die, and then advance that many spaces on the number line. The first turkey to get to the number 20 (or whatever number your number line ends in) wins! This would make a fun independent center game!
How many minutes per pound to cook a turkey? ›
Calculate turkey cooking time and temperature. The simplest way to figure out turkey roasting times is to calculate 13 minutes per pound at 350°F for an unstuffed turkey (that's about 3 hours for a 12- to 14-lb. turkey), or 15 minutes per pound for a stuffed turkey.
