Skip to Content

3 Turkey Neck Gravy Recipes

3 homemade turkey neck gravy recipe ideas are here! If you hate to waste, want to use turkey drippings in gravy plus a bit of meat this is great.

brown turkey neck gravy

You know I hate to throw food away. If you typically toss the contents inside your bird you’ll want to try making this turkey neck gravy this year instead. Last week we shared how to make boiled turkey necks and this time we turned the meat into a thick sauce. (affiliate links present)

Gravy From Turkey Neck

Ok so you have defrosted your raw turkey and grabbed all the stuff out of the cavity. Now what? You can make goodness out of that long “thing” shoved in there. We are here to show you how to do it, three different ways.

First thing first, you’re going to need to boil it/them to get the meat nice and tender. Just like if you were to make boiled chicken all you need is hot broth to get the protein to pull right off with a fork. The rest you in fact will discard and won’t feel guilty about doing so about that. Even if you were to use the carcass for soup you don’t want the neck bones.

Turkey Necks with Gravy

Turkey Necks with Gravy

When boiling any sort of meat you will want to season it well, adding large chunks of celery and carrots are great to throw in there too. If you are only cooking one moist turkey recipe that is okay, you will just have a little less meat. NO worries.

  • 2 turkey necks were used this go around
    • you could chop the giblets and add those in the same pot if desired for neck giblet gravy
  • Onions, 1 diced, 1 quartered
  • Turkey stock, broth or drippings from turkey are best
  • 1-3 bay leaf
  • 2 stalks celery cut into large chunks
  • 1 carrot peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1/3 tsp salt
  • Some granulated garlic or garlic powder
  • Paprika
  • Olive oil or butter
  • Tomato paste ONLY if you want a tomato base to it
    • otherwise whisk in 2 tbsp flour + 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce instead to thicken

This is two of the versions. If you want a rich tomato base flavor to it then use the paste. If you want more of a brown gravy then skip that but use flour + Worcestershire instead for richness. Served over slices of your Butterball turkey breast or mashed potatoes is amazing.

turkey neck meat

Turkey Neck Meat

You can see what you’ll get once it is fork tender here. Quite a bit actually, more than you’d think just by looking at it raw for sure. Size will vary of course but still worth the hour to boil and make a sort of onion gravy with it.

Before you go any further or jump to the printable recipe card below you might have a few questions in mind. We have answers and if you have others just let us know below in the comments.

Turkey Neck Bone Meat Ratio

There is actually quite a bit. Typically you’ll find 45% bone & about 55% meat, plenty to make gravy with turkey meat we will share with you here. 

What are the benefits of turkey neck

Aside from having a rich deep dark meat flavor the protein you pull off is actually high in protein and calcium.

For a smoother final product you’ll want to strain the mixture and could use the boiling “broth” instead of drippings or packaged too. There are SO many ways of making homemade turkey gravy it just comes down to preference really.

turkey gravy

How to Make Gravy with Turkey Neck Meat

Rinse turkey necks and cut into 2-3 inch pieces, or leave whole (can boil neck and giblets together). Put them in a roasting pan or stock pot over medium heat. Add chopped celery stalks, carrots, onion halves, bay leaves and pour in your beef broth or drippings from turkey. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and cook for an hour on low heat.

  • After 1 hour, the necks will be fully boiled and you can proceed to the next step. Remove them from the broth and separate the meat from the bones, transfer to a deep bowl.
  • Remove the remaining vegetables and bay leaves with a slotted spoon from the broth. Strain the remaining broth through a sieve.
  • Fry the diced onion for three to four minutes in olive oil on the stovetop in a skillet until lightly golden brown.
  • Add 5 tablespoons of broth, as well as tomato paste and spices (photo of that at bottom)
    • OR if you don’t want a tomato base to it instead add the flour and use that as a thickener with the fresh herbs. Whisk constantly until it is smooth. (photo of this at top of post)
    • After adding in flour cook another 5 minutes.

Transfer the sauce to the pan with the remaining broth. Add the turkey neck meat, mix and heat for 20 minutes on low heat. Taste, season with salt and pepper if you think it needs a little something and serve.

Brown Gravy with Turkey Neck Meat

Recipe with Turkey Necks

If you wanted to make another simple Instant Pot gravy you could use these instructions. Of course since it’s a pressure cooker it will cook faster. Just add the meat once that is pulled off into the mix once this is done.

The photo below is if you omitted the tomato base. Both are great it is just preference really. The biggest part of this is getting the necks tender, directions for that is below for you. If you have your own family recipe for the base and just want to add this meat into it then by all means just follow directions up ’til that point.

You can and should save leftovers in a jar, wait until it cools off first though. Use a sealed mason jar or container and leave in your fridge. It will save well for 3-4 days. To keep longer you should freeze in freezer bags for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost in the fridge when ready to enjoy again. Another idea is to make air fry turkey necks.

Gravy From Turkey Neck

Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with?? Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!

Looking for more easy family recipes and tips? LIKE The Typical Mom Facebook page?

Then sign up for my free newsletter, and follow me on Pinterest! 😉

***** If you LOVED this recipe give it 5 Stars below and let everyone know what you thought about it. 😉

the typical mom
brown turkey neck gravy
Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

Turkey Neck Gravy

Homemade turkey neck gravy recipe is here! If you hate to waste, want to use turkey drippings in gravy plus a bit of meat this is great.
Course Dip, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword gravy, turkey neck
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 26kcal
Author The Typical Mom

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Rinse turkey necks and cut into 2-3 inch pieces, or leave whole. Put them in the pot. Add chopped celery stalks, carrots, onion halves, bay leaves and pour in your beef broth or drippings from turkey. Cover with a lid and cook for an hour on low heat.
  • After an hour, the necks will be fully boiled and you can proceed to the next step. Remove them from the broth and separate the meat from the bones, transfer to a deep bowl.
  • Remove the remaining vegetables and bay leaves with a slotted spoon from the broth. Strain the remaining broth through a sieve.
  • Fry the diced onion for three to four minutes in olive oil on the stovetop in a skillet. Add 5 tablespoons of broth, as well as tomato paste OR 2 tbsp flour + 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce as a thickener (only use one) and spices. Whisk together and saute for another 5 minutes.
  • Transfer the sauce to the pan with the remaining broth. Add the turkey neck meat, mix and heat for 20 minutes on low heat.

Video

Nutrition Facts
Turkey Neck Gravy
Amount Per Serving (1 oz)
Calories 26 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Saturated Fat 0.2g1%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1g
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 0.2mg0%
Sodium 252mg11%
Potassium 91mg3%
Carbohydrates 4g1%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 0.5g1%
Vitamin A 1046IU21%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 10mg1%
Iron 0.2mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.