# What do you do with turkey giblets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563 "2010-09-13T02:56:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563/21 "2010-09-13T16:48:18Z")
Except for the liver, eat 'em! They need long cooking so I do simmer them with the neck and some celery & herbs first, and then use that stock for the gravy. The liver is thrown out or cooked for any animals in the house that like it, which currently is zero. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563/22 "2010-09-13T16:57:05Z")
Reminds me of an old Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Thanksgiving strip. Frankliin: Pretty good turkey. What did you stuff it with? Fat Freddy: Stuff it? It wasn’t empty. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563/23 "2010-09-13T17:51:21Z")
:eek: Ever read ‘Portnoy’s Complaint’? :eek: My Dad used to just fry them up and eat them in a sandwich, which completely horrified the rest of us. My Brother in Law feeds them to the dogs. Cajun-style Blackened Chicken Livers are great, but other than that, I’ve never found any use for them. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563/24 "2010-09-13T17:52:20Z")
Celery, onions, butter, and liver into a frying pan, then added to a bunch o’ingredients for stuffing. Everything else goes to the puppies, who love, love, love, LOVE when I cook for Thanksgiving. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563/25 "2010-09-13T17:54:11Z")
> [@](#): > > I usually saturate a piece of cheesecloth with oil and butter and lay over the breast, and tent it with foil, periodically basting it with drippings to keep it moist. Helps with the overcooking issue. Most of the time I only cook a turkey breast, so I’ll try this next time. Even if I baste the breast, it sometimes gets too dry. How do you wash the cheesecloth? I was thinking that I’d probably have to rinse it out in hot water, and then throw it in with the bleachable whites. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563/26 "2010-09-13T18:10:51Z")
My wife eats them. Avian organ meats aren’t unusual in Chinese cuisine. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563/27 "2010-09-13T18:15:02Z")
We leave them outside, far from the house, for the bears. But not in the roasting pan any more, not since one stole it (don’t worry, we followed the paw prints to find it, so it’s not out there still). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563/28 "2010-09-13T18:15:33Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > I usually saturate a piece of cheesecloth with oil and butter and lay over the breast, and tent it with foil, periodically basting it with drippings to keep it moist. Helps with the overcooking issue. > > Most of the time I only cook a turkey breast, so I’ll try this next time. Even if I baste the breast, it sometimes gets too dry. > > How do you wash the cheesecloth? I was thinking that I’d probably have to rinse it out in hot water, and then throw it in with the bleachable whites. I throw it out. You can buy a huge amount of the stuff very cheaply. For just a turkey breast, you might try doing it on the BBQ, or possibly braising it. I’ve never done just a turkey breast by itself. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563/29 "2010-09-13T18:36:41Z")
> [@Dr.Rieux](#): > > Reminds me of an old Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Thanksgiving strip. > > Frankliin: Pretty good turkey. What did you stuff it with? > Fat Freddy: Stuff it? It wasn’t empty. Isn’t that the one where he kills the turkey humanely - “I gave it an overdose of reds.” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563/30 "2010-09-13T19:06:23Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Any body cavity fat gets pulled out and popped in the bottom of the roasting pan to render out so it gets into the basting and gravy liquid > > Dice that fat up with some herbs (especially rosemary and sage), loosen the skin on the breast, and slide the seasoned fat between the breast and the skin. This way, the breast is pretty much self basting, and it’s somewhat protected from overcooking. Make a sausage meat out of anything you like, with herbs and some bread crumbs, and rendered duck fat if you have it. Saturate with cream, and stuff everywhere under the skin (except the back). Use a smooth spoon to help seperate the skin to get back under the legs and wings. Yell ‘help help it’s still alive’ while your hand is shoved up under the skin. Then wiggle a leg when they turn to look. Cook on one side for a while, then the other, then upright to finish. Use the cheesecloth with olive oil to get a fabulous looking golden brown skin. Stuff the cavity after cooking or it will take too long. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563/31 "2010-09-13T19:46:05Z")
My mom used to cook the gizzard separately (and let the family, except me - yuck, fight over it) and then squish up the liver and put it in the stuffing. Her stuffing beats my in-laws by a mile, but they are cooking for vegetarians as well, so no meat products in the stuffing, and nothing gets stuffed with it. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563/32 "2010-09-13T19:56:18Z")
My heart breaks at the idea of giving the liver to the dog. Or indeed, any of the giblets. They all go into the stock pot, along with the neck and all the bones (which I remove before roasting, except for wings and drumsticks). All the meat off the bones, the simmered giblets, and the browned liver, are chopped up for the stuffing. Turkey is too nummy to waste anything. I used to put them into the gravy, but that’s too lumpy. Darn, now I’m hungry for turkey. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563/33 "2010-09-13T20:23:55Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > My heart breaks at the idea of giving the liver to the dog. Or indeed, any of the giblets. They all go into the stock pot, along with the neck and all the bones (which I remove before roasting, except for wings and drumsticks). All the meat off the bones, the simmered giblets, and the browned liver, are chopped up for the stuffing. > > Turkey is too nummy to waste anything. > > I used to put them into the gravy, but that’s too lumpy. > > Darn, now I’m hungry for turkey. > > Regards, > Shodan Me too. What was this thread about? Oh yeah, turkey giblets. What to do with them? Eat them of course. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563/34 "2010-09-13T21:00:35Z")
I’ve cooked three turkeys in my life. The giblets were removed and tossed into the garbage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-with-turkey-giblets/553563.md?page=1)