What do you do with the giblets and neck for Thanksgiving?

[givemecarbs]

This topic has started wars in my extended family and also with friends. John's family puts some giblets in the gravy and some in the stuffing. John hates giblets and is horrified when he accidentally eats some of these little surprises. Once I spent Thanksgiving at my cousin's house and was dismayed to learn that her family tradition was to cook up the giblets and neck as a good starter for turkey soup later. I have to admit that they made a fine turkey soup but then the turkey gravy sucked. My firm belief is that giblets are to be cooked up along with the neck to make a savory broth as a base for the all important turkey gravy. This makes Thanksgiving Dinner yummier and also all those future hot turkey sandwiches. Dogs get most of the giblets and the cat gets a piece of giblet plus the neck to chew on for about ten minutes before she can eat any of the bone. Then I take it from her. I make turkey soup too to go with all those cold turkey sandwiches but I already have two frozen containers of chicken broth just waiting to enrich that hot turkey rice soup. Man, now I'm hungry.

[Popkin]

We take the liver, chop it and brown it in butter, and take the rest of the giblets and neck and simmer for stock for the gravy. The kitties get the used neck and giblets, then the liver gets puree'd into the stock, which is then used for gravy

[aluelui]

After 30 years of "meaning to do something with them" and remembering that my folks always seemed to simmer these parts for some reason..... am happy to reconnect with my childhood. I ran out of dog food (horror! specialty stuff not to be found today so the dogs will be happy campers with the snacks THEY are going to receive and my gravy will be even BETTER than is always is. Happy Thanksgiving!

[Will Owen]

I absolutely insist on giblets and neck meat in both gravy and stuffing, and since I'm the cook I get my way! If anyone in the family (this is Mrs. O's family we're talking about) does not like these bits of innards that's just too damn bad, but I haven't heard any complaints. Some of the liver, I will say, goes only into the gravy, not the stuffing (it unbalances the flavor), but most of it goes into the cook, as his reward for a job well done.

[LindaWhit]

Everything gets simmered and cut up for the cats and any remaining liquid gets spooned into their food a bit at a time. No humans consume it in my family. :-)

[Morganna]

Neck goes into a pan with water and some seasonings to start a broth to be used for the gravy, the giblets (heart, liver, gizzard) get fried up in a little bit of butter. I eat the heart and gizzard, my husband makes me share the liver with him. :) I do the same with the giblets that come with roasting chickens, too.

[Karl S]

Giblets and hearts and neck meat get poached with a bay leaf, perhaps aromatics, and a little dry French vermouth. The organs are then trimmed and diced, while the neck meat is shredded/minced - the meat is used in both the gravy and dressing along with some sausage. the poaching liquid is then reduced and added to the stock/broth.

The liver is reserved for other uses.

But I would not dream of wasting them - they are the best part (along with the tail of the roasted turkey - which is Cook's Treat). I buy extra packages of hearts and giblets because there's never enough.

[MEH]

Like several others have already mentioned, I simmer everything (except the liver, which I toss) to make stock for the gravy.

Mary
www.BestinKitchen.com

[Bryn]

We simmer the heck out of the giblets in a saucepan at the back of stove with some poultry seasoning and use the liquid for the gravy and give Murphy dog the fleshy parts.

The neck we roast and it is then fought over by my mother and brother.

[janniecooks]

I use the neck and wing trimmings for stock for the gravy, roast the heart and gizzard tucked under the turkey, and toss the liver. The gizzard and heart are the cook's snack. I despise little bits of giblets in gravy or stuffing.

[roro1831]

I roast them all with the turkey and them eat them. That's the way we did it at my grandmother's when I was a kid and we'd fight over the giblets and neck. Now I don't have to fight anyone for them as my in-laws think I'm disgusting for eating them.

the in-laws use them as a base for the gravy, but don't chop them up so I get to eat the neck and giblets when I'm at their house as well.

[macca]

We use them as a base for the gravy, too- don't pit them into the gravy- my mom eats them!

[Cathy]

I boil all that stuff that comes in the little bag, chop, peel off meat from neck and add all of it, including the broth, to my dressing.

Gravy is made from the juices cooked off.

[Sooeygun]

We put the liver in the stuffing and the rest gets simmered for stock to make the gravy. Thanksgiving is usually at my parents' place and the cooked neck, etc get thrown in the woods for whatever critters want to eat them. Foxes we think.

[alliedawn_98]

I make a giblet gravy but cooking them in a saucepan with water until done, remove from pan, cool, and chop into small pieces, add back to the broth, then thicken the gravy with cornstarch and water. Season to taste. The neck is the cook's snack! The cook is me and I've been known to buy a package of turkey necks any time of year and cook them for my lunch. I also like chicken necks.

[Val]

Yep, I cook the neck and gizzards (while the turkey is roasting) in water with celery, onion, bay leaf and peppercorns...I scrape whatever meat I can from the cooked neck--you'd be surprised how much comes off--then I chop that up along with the giblets and add to our pan-gravy. The broth also goes into the gravy. Not everyone likes giblets in their gravy--others put the giblets in the dressing or stuffing.

[givemecarbs]

Allie now I miss my friend Joe who was like a second father to me. My daschunds and cat would miss out when I cooked for him because he loved the necks and giblets from chickens and turkeys too.

[FoodChic]

There was recently a great topic on something very similar. I have to admit, the conversation we had will change my use of the neck.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/572510