Giblets—The Insiders Secret to Epic Stuffing, Gravy and More

Yes, giblets. They’re the little bonus bundles inside turkeys. Turns out those precious little parcels hold the key ingredient to the best tasting home-made stuffing and gravies. Delights that will fly off your holiday table.

As regenerative farmers we understand the true importance of eating whole animal. That’s why our turkeys come with giblets. If you’re new to giblets, don’t panic, we have simple recipe for you.

Giblet Gravy:

 INGREDIENTS:
Turkey neck, chopped into three or four pieces
Drippings from your roasted turkey
Half a cup of flour
Salt and pepper to taste.
4 cups of chicken or turkey broth
4 cups of water
1 large onion quartered
1 carrot chopped
1 rib of celery cut into 2-inch pieces
2 sprigs of fresh thyme and flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp of whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 cups of vegetable oil
Salt to taste

First, make the broth for your gravy. Use all the giblets except for the liver.

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Add the turkey neck, heart, quartered onion, and 1/2 tsp of salt to the pan.
3. Stir to coat with oil, cover, and cook on low-medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add 4 cups cold water and the carrot, celery, bay leaf, thyme, parsley, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
5. Once boiling, cover, and reduce the heat to simmer until the broth is flavorful, 30 to 40 minutes.
6. Strain the broth and use immediately or let cool.

For the gravy:

1. Once the neck has cooled, remove as much meat from it as possible. Once you have all the neck meat, chop it in small pieces along with the heart. You can discard whatever is left from the neck.
2. When you take your turkey out of the oven, pour all the drippings from your turkey roasting pan into a large bowl. This includes everything that’s in the pan, including fat, pieces of meat that fell off.
3. Let the drippings rest for a minute or two. The fat will float and settle at the top, leaving the delicious juices and bits of meat at the bottom. Use a spoon to remove most of the fat from the top.
4. Heat a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Add one cup of pan drippings along with the flour and whisk the mixture slowly over the heat as it begins to brown, creating a roux.
5. Once the roux reaches a golden brown color, add 4 cups of the turkey broth you just made and 1 additional cup of drippings.
6. Whisk the gravy constantly for about 5 to 8 minutes, or until thickened. Then add the diced giblet meat.

If you like a thinner gravy, add more broth or drippings. If its it’s too thin for you're liking, cook it for a couple more minutes to reduce. You can also mix one TBSP of cornstarch with 1 TBSP of hot water or broth to form a slurry and add it to the gravy little by little until you reach the desired consistency.