Video: Don’t Toss Those Turkey Giblets!

As you ready your holiday turkey for roasting, do you throw away or feed your pet the turkey giblets that usually come tucked inside the bird?

The turkey giblets can provide concentrated nutrition to your holiday meal, so this year, use them instead of toss them!

In this fourth of the five “Turkey Tips” I filmed as a series for the NBC News Channel 8 Today television show anchored by Gayle Guyardo, I show you how to very simply incorporate those giblets into your holiday meal even if you are not the best of cooks.

Turkey giblets typically consist of four different parts of the turkey (some people don’t include the neck) :

• Neck – great for adding additional flavor, color, and extra minerals to the gravy.  You can simmer the neck on very low heat with some grassfed butter while the turkey is roasting and then add the juice to the gravy drippings.

• Gizzard – loaded with Vitamin A, the gizzard can be simmered along with the neck and then chopped up finely and blended into the gravy for additional flavor and trace minerals.

• Heart – the heart muscle contains the highest concentration of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) also known as ubiquinone of any food.  CoQ10 levels begin to diminish as early as your 20’s and can affect your heart and brain health significantly as this nutrient is required for cellular energy.  The heart can be simmered with the other giblets in grassfed butter.

• Liver – liver is the wonderfood that has disappeared from the diet of Westerners.  Chock full of vitamins A and D, antioxidants, and trace minerals, this food which was sacred to many Traditional Cultures can be blended with the heart after simmering in butter with the other giblets. Mix in some additional butter with a few pulses of the food processor, and you will have a delicious and nutrient dense pate spread for crackers that is the perfect appetizer for your holiday meal.

A special thanks goes to Sally Fallon Morell, President of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author of Nourishing Traditions Cookbook for suggesting some of the ideas for this clip.

To view all the Holiday Turkey Tips I filmed for the NBC News Channel 8 Today show, click here.

Do you have a special way of preparing turkey giblets?  Please share your ideas with all of us in the comments section.

Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist

Picture Credit

Sarah

The Healthy Home Economist holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Mother to 3 healthy children, blogger, and best-selling author, she writes about the practical application of Traditional Diet and evidence-based wellness within the modern household. Her work has been featured by USA Today, The New York Times, ABC, NBC, and many others.