Give Thanks & Take Stock

Gratitude. Today I give thanks for all who take time to check in here periodically. I am grateful for your interest and your support. It is very important to me to share my Greek culture through recipes and to provide you with enough everyday cooking options to inspire you to cook more in your own kitchen. Even if all you have is a hot plate and a refrigerator, I still have options for you. Yes, you can cook, and take charge of your good health. The more you cook, the more control you have of the ingredients and, eventually, of your health. 

Stock. As Thanksgiving approaches, I hope that we all take time to make stock (for gravy) and to take stock of our blessings. I am grateful for my followers (you), for my sweet Dewey, for stepchildren and grandchildren, for my sister, Antonia, and her beautiful family, for family here and in Greece and Australia, for so many kind friends and connections all over the world, and for the means to follow my writing and cooking coaching passion. I am also grateful for a body that is still strong and healthy, supporting me through the last four years of hip joint degeneration, and for the skilled surgeon who will give me a new and improved hip soon! No more limping, and increased mobility and activities.

A roasting pan full of delicious nutrition!

Making stock (or broth) is easy. As for the name, is it stock or is it broth? Ugh! We use both interchangeably, and incorrectly, but that doesn't matter today. What does matter is that I have a simplified way to make the turkey "juice" that will be the base of your Thanksgiving Day gravy and at the same time give you something nutritious to sip on, turkey meat for your next pot of soup and an easy dinner for you and another person.

The more bones that you use, the greater the flavor. This is why bone-in chicken tastes SO much better than the ubiquitous fast-food nuggets or the boneless, skinless chicken breasts. This is why I use turkey necks! Now, I do realize that some--perhaps many--will turn green and have to leave the room when the turkey necks appear, but I encourage you to develop a tolerance. The meat that comes off the neck bones is succulent and tender and better than any bland and dry piece of breast meat. I encourage you to make an effort towards tolerance. It will benefit you greatly in the end.

Sometimes I use a large slow cooker to make broth. Truthfully, I do this about once very two weeks throughout the cold weather. I use 6 turkey necks, a few smashed garlic cloves and a generous amount of coarse sea salt. 24 hours on low, and I have bone broth to sip on or, with the addition of vegetables, beans, rice, and the neck meat, a next-level soup for warming the heart and body on a cold night. This method is wonderful for those who only have that one burner and no oven.

Recently, I've started incorporating a new method into my cooking and eating plans. Every two weeks or so, Dewey buys 6 large turkey necks and 3 large turkey wings. I preheat the oven to 550F (as high as it will go). In a large roasting pan over an assortment of vegetables and herbs, I layer the turkey necks and wings. Every layer gets its own generous sprinkling of salt and pepper and a light drizzle of olive oil. I fill the pan with enough water to come just shy of an inch from the top of the pan. Then I walk this container of so much nutrition and deliciousness to the middle rack of the preheated oven and leave it for one hour. I turn down the heat to 325F and leave it for another four to five hours. If the wings and necks are smaller, remove the pan earlier; if they are big, it will take longer. Trust me, you will know. When the wings are golden brown and tender on both sides, everything else will be ready too.

For the vegetables, I always use onions, plenty of garlic, celery and carrots. I almost always add fennel (bulb, stalks and fronds). Turnips and sweet potatoes would be good. Tomatoes past their prime for salads can be used also.

Some notes. I don't cover the pan. I have boiling water ready in a kettle to supplement what's in the pan. You'll need to do this probably about three hours in. Once the wings have browned on one side, I turn them to brown on the other side. If the necks brown also, turn them as well. Keep the wings on top, so that they roast instead of boil. Cut the leg-like piece off the wings and nestle it in with the necks, leaving the rest of the wing intact and on the top layer. Check this piece at the end of cooking. It is similar to a leg, and some of the meat may be too dry and tough to keep. Your dog may appreciate the meat from this piece of turkey.

How to use this pan of extraordinary goodness and flavor? This is entirely up to you. These are some ways that I like to use everything.

1. Eat the turkey wings for dinner as soon as the pan comes out of the oven. You can have a small salad on the side, or use the vegetables at the bottom of the pan.
2. After dinner, when the necks have cooled enough to handle, pull of the meat and freeze. This is an easy protein addition to any pot of soup. Stir it in at the end. Try my recipe for Faux Pho!
3. Strain the stock and use for sipping on throughout the week, or freeze to use in your next pot of soup. Keep enough for making gravy.
4. Making gravy. Keep as much of the stock as you wish. Heat in a saucepan and taste. Add salt, if needed--very important. Take a small soup bowl, add half a cup of self-rising flour and enough hot water to turn it into a slurry (watery paste). Make sure that there are no lumps. Start whisking the broth while you add a bit of the slurry. give it time to thicken. If it's not thick enough, add more slurry while whisking. Continue the whisking, adding more slurry until your gravy is the consistency that you like. Sprinkle in enough poultry seasoning or sage and thyme to satisfy your taste memory of what gravy tastes like. That's it. If you need more slurry, you know what to do. If you have leftover slurry, discard it.
5. Eat the turkey meat and vegetables in a simple bowl of the broth.

Frozen mixed vegetables cooked in the broth with one can of
Rotel original tomatoes with chilies. Added whole turkey neck at the end.

Slow cooker doing its magic.