Here's everything worth knowing about turkey giblets and how to pick them, what they are, how to store them, and what to use instead, plus 14 recipes to cook tonight.

What are turkey giblets?

Turkey giblets are the edible inner parts packed inside the bird's cavity. The bag usually holds the neck, the heart, the gizzard, and a lobe of liver. Most turkeys come with them tucked inside, and they are the foundation of good gravy and stock.

Each piece tastes a little different. The neck is mostly bone with sweet, dark meat clinging to it. The heart and gizzard are dense and chewy with a deep savory flavor, while the liver is soft and rich with a faint mineral edge.

Pull the bag out before the bird goes in the oven. Roasting it inside by accident is the classic Thanksgiving mistake, and a plastic bag will melt.

What to Do With Them

The neck and the muscle pieces go straight into a pot for gravy or stock. Cover them with water, add an onion and a few herbs, and simmer an hour or more until the meat is tender and the broth tastes deep.

That liquid is the backbone of a Giblet Gravy or a Turkey Giblet Gravy. It also makes a homemade Turkey Stock taste like the holiday.

Hold the liver back. It turns bitter if you boil it the whole time, so poach it gently for only the last 10 to 15 minutes, or cook it separately.

Once the simmered meat is cool, chop it fine and fold it back into the gravy for texture, the way Giblet Gravy with Wine does. Chopped giblets also enrich stuffing, as in Easy Portuguese Potato & Giblet Stuffing and a Wild Rice Stuffing.

Cooking and Common Slips

Giblets reward a slow, gentle simmer. The gizzard and heart are working muscles full of connective tissue, so they need time to turn tender; rushing them at a hard boil leaves them rubbery and the broth cloudy.

Aromatics make the broth. Onion, celery, carrot, a bay leaf, and a few peppercorns turn plain giblet water into something worth ladling over the bird. A splash of the pan drippings ties the gravy to the roast.

Now the liver, which trips up most cooks. Throw it in at the start and the whole pot turns bitter and chalky. Add it late, or leave it out of the broth entirely.

Substitutes

No giblets in the bag? Chicken giblets do the same job with a slightly lighter flavor. Chicken wings or backs build a similar gravy base if you have none at all.

For body without the offal, simmer the turkey neck alone, or lean on a good turkey or chicken stock and skip the chopped meat. The gravy loses a little richness but still works.

Buying and Storing

Most whole turkeys include the giblets free, bagged in the cavity. Check both the body and neck cavities before cooking, since some birds hide a second bag up front.

You can also buy giblets or necks on their own at the meat counter around the holidays.

Keep them cold and use them fast. Raw giblets last only a day or two in the fridge at or below 40°F (4°C), so simmer them the day you thaw the bird or freeze them right away. They freeze well for a few months in a sealed bag.

Cooked giblet gravy keeps three to four days refrigerated. Cool it quickly and store it covered, then reheat gently while whisking so it does not break.

Quick facts

In Chinese

火鸡内脏

British (UK) term

Turkey giblets

en français

abats de dinde

en español

menudillos de pavo

Recipes using turkey giblets

There are 14 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 14 recipes