What To Do With The Turkey Parts and Recipe
Are you stuck with turkey parts and don’t know what the heck you are going to do with them? Don’t sweat it. We have several ideas for using them to give your taste buds a sensational holiday treat.
Most people don’t even think about a big piece of poultry anatomy when cooking their Thanksgiving turkey: the neck, backbone, and giblets. What are these things? Should we even use them? I hope this post will help you if you want to know more about these turkey parts.
What to do with the turkey backbone, neck, and giblets? In this article, we will cover what to do with the parts of turkeys that you usually would not roast for Thanksgiving Dinner. People do not cook the neck, the backbone, and the giblets nearly enough, yet it is so versatile! The good news is you can sneak some more meat into your meal. That’s budget meal planning!
Turkey parts are a great way to add delicious flavor to your Thanksgiving meal. They can be used in soups, stews, and casseroles. The turkey parts are a great way to flavor your gravy and stock. Turkey neck and giblets are usually mixed with vegetables to create stuffing for Thanksgiving. They are delicious when well cooked.
How to use the turkey parts
You may have considered using the leftover turkey parts for soups, stock, or broth. But there are other inexpensive different ways to use them. You can use them as an alternative to chicken parts when you are making soup or stew, or you can use them as an alternative for chicken soup stock when making homemade chicken noodle soup.
Here’s what we recommend:
- Turkey necks and giblets can be used in various recipes as a substitute for chicken parts. They’re especially useful if you’re trying to keep costs down or make more food stretch further. You can use them in soups and stews, but they taste great in casseroles or spaghetti sauces.
- A turkey carcass is perfect for making stock! Boil it with vegetables like carrots, celery, onion, and garlic for about an hour or two until the liquid turns into a rich broth that you can use later for soups or sauces.
- The turkey neck, backbone, and giblets can be roasted, and you will have a different dish. Many turkey recipes recommend carving the turkey before roasting. Many people may discard the parts because the recipes do not mention how and ways to use them. The best way to use them is to cut the neck, carcass, and backbone into smaller pieces, season, and roast.
How to roast turkey parts
Let’s use the recipe for Spiced and Glazed Roast Turkey as an example. After carving the turkey, separating, the legs, wings, breasts, and thighs, place the backbone, neck, giblets, etc., in a bowl. Using a large cutting board, a sharp knife, or a meat cleaver, chop or cut the neck and backbone into smaller pieces. If you add some meat left of the bone breast, cut that into small pieces as well.
You are now ready to season the turkey parts. If you have any leftover seasoning blend from a turkey recipe, use any types of seasoning blend you prefer. I love the following combinations:
- Any of the Noubess seasoning blends, such as Cajun, Baharat, or Jerk seasoning.
- Green Seasoning or Haitian Epis
Once you have seasoned the pieces, let them marinate for at least 1 – 24 hours. Roast in the oven and enjoy.
This dish can be served as an entree of as an appetizer. I like to enjoy it with other finger foods while enjoying friends’ company.
Tips and Notes
- Turkey carcasses are full of meat and bones, and the neck is an excellent source for making stock. To make a broth, you can use the carcass and neck to make some delicious turkey broth.
- Best to use a seasoning blend to season the parts.
- Use a baking dish or baking dish to roast the parts.
- You can use the roasted parts to add to soup, legumes, stews or bean soups.
- It is best to use a meat cleaver to chop the bones.
Here’s the recipe
Roasted Turkey Parts
Equipment
- Meat Cleaver
Ingredients
- 1 turkey carcass leftover from carving a whole turkey, including the neck, giblets
- 1- 2 tbsp Seasoning blend depending on the size of the turkey
- Lemon zest
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- A mixture of bell peppers and onions about ¼ cup of each ingredient.
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Using a large cutting board, a sharp knife, or a meat cleaver, chop or cut the neck and backbone into smaller pieces. If you add some meat left of the bone breast, cut that into small pieces as well.
- Place the parts back into the bowl. Add your seasoning, oil, and the zest of one lemon and mix well. Marinate for at least 1 hour to 24 hours.
- Remove from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. Place the turkey parts on a large prepared baking sheet or baking dish.
- Roast in a 375 F degrees preheated oven for about 1 hour. Remove the dish from the oven, and add the cut-up veggies. Place the baking dish back in the oven and continue roasting for 30 minutes or until fully cooked.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately with your favorite grain dish, tossed salad, pasta salad, or boiled potatoes or plantains.
Notes
- Turkey carcasses are full of meat and bones, and the neck is an excellent source for making stock. To make a broth, you can use the carcass and neck to make some delicious turkey broth.
- Best to use a seasoning blend to season the parts.
- Use a baking dish or baking dish to roast the parts.
- You can use the roasted parts to add to soup, legumes, stews, or bean soups.
- It is best to use a meat cleaver to chop the bones.
Nutrition
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
