M.B.
Every year, we eat what we can for the main meal (Thanksgiving or Christmas). We then take all the meat off the bones and freeze it in meal size portions (2-3 C chopped in freezer bags). If there is a good solid chunk (the other breast, for example), I freeze that as is for an entire meal.
I then take the carcass and put it in my countertop roaster, throw in some veggies (carrots, onions, celery, garlic) and herbs (whatever smells good.. oregano, basil, sage, bay leaf, etc.) and cook it for many hours...(since we start this in the evening, usually, it frequently cooks overnight).
Then I scoop out all the solid stuff (skin, bones, veggies, meat, etc.) and put the broth through a strainer. I then put it in freezer bags or containers in recipe size portions. This year, I put 10 2 C bags, 10 1 C bags, and 2 4 C bags in the freezer. I already took out the 2 4 C bags for turkey and rice soup/casserole yesterday (we were going to cook turkey and noodles, but we didn't have noodles, so I tossed in about 1 1/2 C brown rice and 1/2 C barley.... it soaked up all the broth and turned it into a casserole).
I use the chopped turkey in different casseroles.. King ranch chicken, turkey and noodles, chicken spaghetti, jambalaya, curry, whatever I can find.
Occasionally during the year we might cook up a smaller turkey if we find them on a good price. Sometimes I get an extra turkey or two and keep them in the freezer for later.
