The Ingredient You Should Never Add To Your Giblet Gravy

Cooking a basic roasted turkey or whole chicken for the holidays presents several factors to consider. You first need to figure out how long to thaw the bird and what to do with the pouch of liver, heart, gizzard, neck, and kidney meat referred to as giblets. It's important to remove the giblets from the cavity before you brine or roast the meat. Instead of tossing out the bird giblets, you can use them to make giblet gravy to serve over turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and other holiday dishes. 

However, not all parts of the bird should be included in the gravy-making process. Unlike the other bird innards, the liver should be left out of gravy. The liver is a strongly flavored giblet with a mineral, bitter aftertaste, and that pungent flavor becomes stronger when you boil it. Using liver alters the flavor of the stock and gives the entire gravy recipe an unpleasant, bitter taste. 

To make giblet gravy, simply add the savory giblet meat to the water with aromatic vegetables and seasoning. Cook at a simmer to make flavorful giblet stock. Then, use the giblet stock as the base liquid for your holiday gravy recipe. If you have any leftover holiday gravy, use it as the secret ingredient to enrich your soup recipes. 

Just because you shouldn't use livers in your holiday gravy doesn't mean that you should throw them out. Whether you're making a roast turkey or whole chicken, you can remove the liver and use it for another recipe. Chopped liver is a traditional Jewish recipe, often made with chicken liver, but you could also make the recipe with turkey. Just be sure not to forget the schmaltz and gribenes, also known as the rendered fat and crispy skin of your poultry. Or, use the turkey or chicken liver to make a holiday pate to serve on crusty bread as an appetizer for your holiday guests. By making giblet gravy and your favorite liver dishes, you can keep your guests happy and use up every part of the holiday bird.