Giblets are those extra parts of the turkey you don't roast on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day. But don't throw out the heart, gizzard, liver, and neck before you read my Giblet Gravy recipe. But the question is "Can you handle it?"
Liver, heart, and the gizzard are textures that go from mushy and chewy to tough. Organ meat is not like dark or white meat, stringy and tender. My recipe is not for the faint of palate.
I used to make my Holiday gravy with pan-roasted drippings but lately, I've added cooked giblets and neck meat for the most pungent Giblet Gravy.
Giblets come in a pouch buried in the cavity of a store-bought whole bird. The long neck is usually separated but in the cavity as well.
I usually saute or roast the liver and eat it when I bake a turkey or chicken. It's tender when cooked. The heart and gizzard are chewy and take an hour or two of boiling to tenderize. Japanese restaurants grill giblets on skewers while in the South they are deep-fried.
The neck appears all bone, but it holds quite a lot of meat when cooked and peeled.
For a Giblet Gravy, I will boil the giblets and neck in water for an hour with a little salt and pepper. I then chop them up and peel off the neck meat. Finally, I make a gravy with the giblet broth and flour then add the chopped and shredded meat.
Giblet Gravy is intense in flavor and may not appeal to sensitive palates. When I make a holiday turkey I just go for it, guests can always pour in the gravy liquid and leave out the chunky giblets.
So on your next Thanksgiving or Christmas Day, you can make a plain Gravy or my meatier and pungent Giblet Gravy.
Giblet Gravy - VIDEO Play it here, video runs 4 minutes, 23 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Ingredients
- Giblets - 1 neckbone of meat, heart, gizzard, and liver. I get the giblets from buying a whole chicken or turkey. Look for the giblets package in the cavity of the raw bird. The neckbone also comes from the bird cavity. If the neck is not included then it's okay to just use the giblets package.
- Water from boiling giblets - 3 cups. Okay to use favorite broth or a bouillon cube.
- Flour - 1/4 cup. Add an extra tablespoon if gravy is too thin for your tastes. Or add extra water to thin the gravy.
- Salt and Pepper - to taste or about half a teaspoon. I add the salt and pepper to boiling giblets. No salt to the gravy as water from boiling giblets is salty enough to me, but I do add half a teaspoon of extra pepper to the gravy.
Directions
Place giblets plus neck bone into a pot. Add 3 cups of water.
Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer and cover the pot. Simmer giblets plus neckbone for one hour. If you do not like organ meat it's okay to strain the liquid and make a flavorful gravy.
I find that the heart and gizzard are too tough and chewy if you do not cook long enough. They will still have a bit of chew, but that's just the normal cooked texture.
The gizzard will have a tough clear connective tissue right in the middle where the two sides meet. You can slice this away when cooled as it will be rubbery. But, it's okay to just leave it as that is what giblets are all about, a chewier texture.
When giblets are done, remove them and allow them to cool down so you can roughly slice them. It's up to you how chunky the giblets are chopped. The liver is extra soft and may crumble a bit.
The neckbone takes the most work. I find a fork is the best way to scrape off the meat. You may need to get your fingers dirty because some of the meat will cling to crevices in the neckbone.
You should get a cup or so of neck meat and chopped giblets. Now it's time to make the gravy. Heat a pan or pot with medium heat.
Add a quarter cup of flour to the pan. Allow the flour to heat, and stir for a couple of minutes. This will take out some of the raw flour taste and make fewer lumps in the gravy.
Pour in the giblets broth, about 3 cups. If less than 3 cups it's okay to add some water.
Stir water and flour making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to release all the flour that may stick and clump. Heated flour should dissolve in the water. Look for clumps of flour to break up and stir. It may take a minute or two to dissolve all the flour.
The gravy will thicken the longer it cooks. You can serve this as your Giblet Gravy, but to make my intense version you have to add the meat.
Add the cooked giblets and neck meat. Stir to blend. I like extra black pepper in Giblet Gravy, but it's okay to leave it out. I add about half a teaspoon of extra black pepper.
As Giblet Gravy thickens taste to see if you like more salt. I leave it out as the Giblet broth is salty enough for me.
Giblet Gravy will thicken as it heats up to a simmer or low boil, it may take two or three minutes. Keep stirring from time to time. The longer you simmer the gravy the thicker it will get.
I like Giblet Gravy poured over sliced turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, how about you?
