Bitter turkey stock

[brad7945]

Just cooled off pressure cooker after an 8-hour simmer of braised turkey neck and gizzard. Braised with onion, shallot, 3 crushed garlic cloves, a little thyme. Added one carrot and celery stalk to pressure cooker, with about 2 qts water. Turned cooker on very low, then fell asleep. This morning, I'm left with about 2-3 cups of liquid, not syrup, and its really bitter.

Any way to salvage this?

I am roasting the turkey later today on a gas grill. . Maybe just throw in the pan with the other ingredients, and let the turkey stew in its own stock.

I hope this is not bad karma.

[alkapal]

do this test: take a tablespoon of the stock and add a tablespoon of plain water, taste it. if it is still bitter, see if a greater dilution would help.

if it still is bitter, try adding a squeeze of lemon.

if it is still bitter then, don't use it.

i'm thinking the gizzard may be the culprit, but...hey, what do i know? ('cause i didn't stay in a holiday inn express last night).

~~~~~~~
and you are roasting the turkey on a gas grill -- but you'd put it in to "stew" in a pan of bitter juices? NO!!!!

have you cooked a turkey on the gas grill before? i think you'd better start it in the oven, and just finish it on the grill. and...depending on when you plan to eat, and how large is the turkey, you might want to think about getting the turkey on in a little while, no?

[FED]

i think it's the turkey bones. 8 hours under pressure, you're starting to dissolve the calcium in the bones. you find that most often with fish stocks, because they cook so quickly ... a couple of hours simmer, and you can really taste the bitterness.

[alkapal]

yes, i was thinking about that, too. i don't know if they were pressured first, or just slow cooked, but you are right. cooking bones for (way) too long can make it bad.

[chef chicklet]

i think it you cooked the garlic and veggies waaaay too long. Did you have a bay leaf or spices in the pot also? sometimes there is such a thing as cooking a food too long even on low. The meat could of probably taken the long cooking time.
To salvage? Throw it out. take the skin around the neck, or any extra skin and fat. Heck cut the wing tips off since they need to go anyway. Use that and start over with some chicken stock. You'll have a drip pan in the bbq take the drippings too.

[mateo21]

I agree with this... 8 hours for a regular stock is OK, but 8 hours under pressure? You may have extracted something bad or produced something bad with the really long, pressurized cooking process.

[soupkitten]

the veggies were cooked too long, and they (and possibly the calcium in the bones) made the stock bitter. next time fish the veggies out of stock after 45 mins or an hour.

you could try to stew the bitter broth with a quartered apple for 20 mins, then taste. if it has off flavors after that i would *discard it* and use anything-- even a can of chx broth, instead of what you have. if all the stores are closed and you have no alternative, make a fast veg broth with a whole quartered onion (skin on), a carrot cut in half lengthwise, celery, and a crushed clove of garlic, some of that thyme if you've still got some, 1/2 tsp salt and water. bring to boil, simmer 30-45 mins, strain veggies out. if you can, add to this veg stock some of the drippings from the grill-cooked turkey, or a little piece of meat pulled or cut out from the cavity. go macgyver, go!