What do I do with it?  Why, use it to make turkey broth of course!

After removing the foil or plastic, put the carcass in your largest pot (it should hold about a gallon of water when empty).  You can break the carcass into pieces if necessary.  Take the outer skin off one large or two medium onions and chop into quarters.  Toss those in the pot.  Take a couple stalks of celery (leftover from making stuffing perhaps?). Chop them into big pieces (including the leafy parts) then peel and chop a large carrot or two into large chunks.  You can use a handful of the baby carrots you keep in the fridge (pretending to be a healthy snack to replace the Ben and Jerry’s in the freezer — like that works).  Toss the veggies into the pot and top it off with a couple of bay leaves.  Now, fill the pot to the top with cold water and cover.

Put the pot over high heat until it boils,then bring it back to low.  Let it simmer for a couple of hours.  Check it occasionally to make sure that the water hasn’t evaporated and add a cup or so more if needed.  After 2-3 hours, the liquid should be golden.  Turn the pot off and strain the contents to remove all the solids.  You can use a fine strainer or line a colander with cheesecloth.  Throw the solids out.

Now, you have a lovely container of homemade turkey broth.  You can pour it into containers and freeze it for months, or you can turn it into soup right now by adding some chopped leftover turkey, a chopped medium onion, a stalk of chopped celery, a few chopped carrots, and either 3/4 cup of rice or about 6 ounces of egg noodles.  (If you saved your pan drippings, add the defatted frozen liquid now.) When the veggies are soft and the noodles or rice are cooked, it’s soup.  You can eat it while you watch football or freeze it for quick dinners after a day of Christmas shopping.

Enjoy!

*Seriously.  This is way easier than it sounds.  You don’t have to chop carefully and most of the time it just bubbles away on the stove while you ignore it.  And your house will smell yummy.