Free delivery for orders over $125!

What to do with those turkey giblets…

posted on

November 13, 2024

If you’re like me, you didn’t grow up eating animal organs like heart or liver.

Maybe you’re a little grossed out by the idea. I completely understand the feeling! But I’m here to tell you they’re not as gross as they’ve been made out to be!

What are Giblets?

First off, what are turkey giblets? They are the heart, liver, and gizzard. If you purchased a Whiffletree whole turkey, you found all three of those in the cavity of the turkey.

Health Benefits

Poultry organs (and all animal organs) have amazing health benefits. They’re very high in protein, which is essential for our bodies to get enough of for everyday functions. You’ll also get the benefits of vitamins A and B, iron, and CoQ10. In a nutshell, giblets are a health powerhouse!

Flavor

What about the flavor, you may ask? I personally don’t love the flavor of organs alone, but once you add in garlic and butter, they taste amazing! So, here’s how to make a delicious, nutrient-dense giblet gravy.

Nutrient-Dense Giblet Gravy Recipe

What you’ll need:

Turkey neck
3.5 cups water
Turkey giblets  
2 garlic cloves, minced
⅓ c. flour
Drippings from roasted turkey
6 Tbsp butter
Salt to taste

If you’re looking at the giblet gravy recipe from one of our previous blog posts, you’ll notice the way I do it here is a little bit different. Both are great ways of making it, so it’s up to you which way you prefer! You’ll also notice the recipe says to sear the neck along with the giblets. If you already have chicken or turkey bone broth made and on hand, definitely go ahead and do that! I didn’t have any already handy, so here’s what I did.

I reserved the turkey neck from my whole turkey and put it in a medium saucepan with 3.5 cups of water and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. I brought it to a boil over medium high heat before turning to low, letting it simmer for about an hour. (Or you can put all this in a small crock pot and cook it overnight before making the gravy, but maybe add a little more water so too much doesn’t simmer away. You want to end up with 3 cups of broth).

Once the turkey broth was complete, I melted 2 Tbsp butter in another saucepan over medium heat, and then I added the turkey giblets, searing for a few minutes on each side before adding in the turkey broth. I brought the broth to a boil before turning the heat down to low and letting it simmer for about 30-40 minutes.

After simmering, I drained the broth into a bowl and took out the giblets and finely diced them, removing any gristle. Next, I melted 4 Tbsp of butter over medium low heat, then tossed in the minced garlic and cooked until fragrant. Then I added in the ⅓ cup of flour and whisked to make a roux. I let that cook until browned for a couple minutes, constantly stirring, then slowly poured in the broth and reserved roasted turkey drippings, whisking the entire time to keep any clumps from forming. I reduced the heat to low and stirred for a few minutes while it thickened to my desired consistency. I took it immediately off the heat, added in salt to taste, and stirred in the diced giblets.

And there you have it! A delicious giblet gravy. Trust me, no one will complain about the fact that there are chopped up giblets in there! It tastes amazing and adds so much flavor to the roasted turkey. And you can feel good that you’re getting a bunch of amazing nutrition into your loved ones!

If you missed the original recipe from one of our previous blog posts, click HERE to see it.

Shop Whiffletree's Pasture-Raised Turkeys With Giblets

Grab a pasture-raised, nutrient dense turkey with giblets HERE and give this a try! Trust me, you won’t regret it!

How do you like to make your gravy? Do you love giblets, or are you new to it? We want to hear from you! Comment below and tell us what you do!

Cheers to you and your health!

~Bethany

More from the blog

Budget Series: 3 Ways to Use a Whole Chicken (Part 2)

Next up on this budget series, we’ll learn how to roast a chicken in a crockpot. This super easy way of cooking a chicken will ensure dinner is on the table without any hassle for you! Easy Crock pot Chicken: Ingredients: 1 whole chicken (I used a 6lb chicken - the bigger you go, the more meat you get out of it for about the same amount of time put into prepping it) Salt and pepper, to taste Optional: herbs, garlic, onion, etc. Get creative! Directions: 1. Place the chicken into a large crockpot. For the 6lb chicken, I used an 8 quart crock pot. Just enough space! Add any seasonings or herbs your heart desires. No need to add water - the chicken will release water as it cooks! 2. Turn the settings to low. 3. And let it cook for six hours or until the internal temp of the thigh is 165! Carve and serve with some gravy or bbq, or shred it to use in other recipes. ***For a whole chicken, the rule of thumb is about an hour per pound of chicken on the low setting. And if you’re like me and you forget to pull out your chicken to thaw ahead of time, add a half an hour per pound to that. But as always, go by temp instead of time to make sure you don’t get a dry chicken! It really is that easy. I made this chicken to prep for writing this blog post yesterday. I was at work, doing my work for the day and also prepping to leave for a week’s visit home to MN over Father’s Day. When I went to get my chicken to cook it, it was actually still mostly frozen. I had planned for it to be thawed, but I had forgotten to pull it out in time. Oh well, I popped it into the crockpot and just hoped for the best in the middle of a chaotic day. The day was super busy - packing orders to go out on deliveries the next day, processing chickens, and getting everything planned ahead of time for while I’m away on vacation, plus all my normal daily work. Then right after work I had to meet someone in town. Then back to the farm to finish prep for deliveries tomorrow and wrap up any loose ends. Then out to my garden to water and make the plants happy. Then back home to pack, do laundry, clean, and get ready to head out in the morning. And after all that? Dinner, ready and waiting for me in my crockpot. It took about nine hours for the frozen six pound chicken to fully cook, and I didn’t even have to think about it. I shredded some, made a sourdough sandwich, then put the rest into the freezer for while I’m out of town. There you have it! Crockpot chicken for a busy gal’s or guy’s life. It’ll be your best friend! Pro tip: Get a timer for your outlet to plug your crockpot into! Then you can set the timer for when you want it to start and end cooking. That way it’s done when you have time to take care of it. Drop a comment below and let me know how it goes for you! Cheers! ~Bethany

Budget Series: 3 Ways to Use a Whole Chicken (Part 1)

Cook a whole chicken? Sure, it’s more budget friendly, but… how and what do you do with it? This month, we’ll be kickstarting a budgeting series with a few different ways to use a whole chicken. Trust me, it’s actually super easy, and I think it saves more time! Per pound, the price of a whole chicken is much more budget-friendly than getting parts. For example, thighs are going for $14.00 per pound, but a whole chicken is $6.50 per pound! There will be four parts to this blog series. This week, we’ll learn how easy it is to roast a pasture-raised chicken that isn’t dry and tasteless. Get ready to save on time and money! Easy Roasted Whole Chicken Ingredients: 1 whole chicken (I used a 5.5 lb chicken) 2 Tbsp butter, melted Salt and pepper to taste 4 garlic cloves, whole Instructions: 1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. 2. Place a roasting rack in a 9x13 pan (optional, but helps the chicken get a crispier skin). Pat your chicken dry with a paper towel and place breast side down on the rack. Using a pastry brush, spread the melted butter all over the chicken, then sprinkle with salt and pepper (you can also get creative and do a few different seasonings or herbs, like thyme, paprika, etc.). Next, place your garlic cloves inside the cavity of the chicken. 3. Set the pan on the middle rack of your oven. Roast the chicken for about 1.5 hours (about 16 minutes per lb), or until the thermometer reads 160 in the breast and 165 in the thigh. Make sure to stick the thermometer in the meatiest part of the breast or thigh! As always, go by the temperature rather than the time - the time can vary, so you really want to be paying attention to the temp so you don’t overcook. *If you have a smaller chicken, the time will be less for it to fully cook, so adjust the time by multiplying the total weight of the chicken by 16 minutes, and that will give you an estimate of how long it will take.  4. The opportunities are endless! You can either serve it as a roast chicken for dinner along with some mashed potatoes and roast veggies, or you can shred it to use in any chicken dish you want! I cooked up a 5.5lb chicken for one of our team lunches and shredded it all to use in a version of chicken pot pie (homemade biscuits topped with a chicken pot pie filling - I know, not really a pot pie but it tastes the same!). It fed 14 people hungry from a day of hard work on the farm. So it can stretch a long ways! And I saved the bones and skin so I can make a broth out of that. Nothing goes to waste! If I don’t have people to feed and it’s just me, then I find this saves time and money because I can cook a big chicken all at once, shred it, and then portion it out and freeze what I won’t use right away. That way during the week I can just grab out a bag of already cooked and shredded chicken to make a quick meal out of. And there you have it! One easy way of cooking a whole chicken and prepping for more than one meal at a time. Next week, we’ll show you how to make a crockpot version of a whole chicken. Stay tuned! Cheers to you and your health…and your wallet! ~Bethany