Making delicious turkey neck recipe in a slow cooker can be challenging. Nevertheless, the dish will come out to be super tasty. However, I won’t lie about the amount of effort and patience you’ll have to put into the dish. Turkey necks are also known as turkey wings. The low temperature and long cooking time will melt the tough connective tissue into gelatin, giving the soup a rich flavor.
Turkeys are native to North America and were one of the first domesticated birds for consumption by humans. Their popularity as the food spread throughout Europe and Asia between 1500 BC and 1 BC. Today, popular breeds of turkeys are the Broad-Breasted White and the Midget White.
Turkey’s neck is mostly available in Asian countries like Korea, China, Japan, etc. It used to be difficult for me to find it in US supermarkets, but lately, I see them more often, even at my local grocery store. They’re usually sold in 8 to 10 packs for a couple of dollars.
Turkeys are categorized into dark meat birds and light meat birds. Dark meat birds have more myoglobin, resulting in darker meats with more flavor. Turkey necks are the dark meat part of the turkey’s anatomy.
The dish doesn’t require many ingredients or some complicated ones. All the ingredients can be found at your home or quickly in the supermarket.
Can I cook turkey neck in the slow cooker?
Yes, you can cook turkey neck in a slow cooker.
It will give your dish an incredible taste with all the juiciness and tenderness intact. However, it is not a dish that will come out and be ready to serve in just a couple of hours. It takes time and effort to cook the neck and turn it into a fantastic meal.
What do you need for a turkey neck in the slow cooker?
Turkey necks, salt, pepper, brown sugar, water, or chicken stock. You can also use apple juice instead of water. If you don’t have black pepper, it is okay just to omit them from the dry seasonings. Turkeys naturally produce dark meat, so they already have a lot of flavors even without any spices added.
It takes about 3-4 hours on high and 7 on low to cook the necks in a slow cooker. The cooking time varies depending on the size and type of slow cooker you’re using. This recipe is for eight servings, but if you’re using a more giant slow cooker, it might be good for 10-12 servings.
You will need: 8 turkey necks, 1/2 cup salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 cup brown sugar, 8 cups water or chicken stock. Water can be replaced with apple juice to give a sweeter taste.
How long to cook turkey neck in the slow cooker?
Turkey necks in a crock cooker can take a bit of time as the turkey necks take time to soften. It can take about 6 hours on low heat. You can start them in the morning or at night before you go to bed so you will have a nice meal ready for dinner the next day.
Making turkey neck in slow cooker Turkey necks is not your typical ingredient used when cooking, but it is really tasty and absolutely delicious. Preparing turkey necks might take some time, but it will be totally worth the effort. Cooked turkey neck can be used in many different recipes that call for cooked turkey meat or chicken.
Turkey necks in a slow cooker are not your typical ingredients used when cooking, but it is really tasty and absolutely delicious. Preparing turkey necks might take some time, but it will be totally worth the effort. Cooked turkey neck can be used in many different recipes that call for cooked turkey meat or chicken.
Turkey Neck Recipe in Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 8 Turkey necks
- 1/2 cup Salt
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- 1 cup Brown sugar
- 8 cups Water or chicken stock (Water can be replaced with apple juice to give a sweeter taste)
Instructions
- Season the turkey necks with salt and half brown sugar. Let it sit for 30 minutes while you prepare other ingredients.
- Place the seasoned turkey necks in a slow cooker.
- Add the black pepper, remaining brown sugar, and water or chicken stock to the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours and low for 7 hours.
- Serve with rice and kimchi if desired.
Notes
- Side dishes can be served with dinner when you serve this recipe;
- This recipe can be done in a 4-quart crockpot;
- Cooking time depends on the size of the turkey neck used;
- You can also substitute half of the water with apple juice for a sweeter taste.
Possible side dishes to serve with turkey neck in the slow cooker are rice, kimchi, mustard greens, boiled potatoes, or carrots.
Possible recipes to use cooked turkey neck are fried rice with kimchi and eggs and baked chicken and gravy.
The turkey necks were so tender and moist. The seasonings really penetrated the meat and made it flavorful. It was better than what we expected it to be, so we ate the leftovers for a couple of days.
What can I eat with turkey necks?
You do not have to eat this delicious dish alone. It may not give you the taste you expect, and thus you can have this with numerous other things like:-
- Mashed potatoes: well, most people’s favorite way to have this dish is with soft and creamy mashed potatoes. You can have some tasty garlic potatoes with your turkey necks.
- Rice: you can also enjoy the turkey necks with a bowl of plain rice. But only if you have made some gravy in your dish. The rice will soak the gravy and will give you a nice and delicious taste. Or you can also have bread to absorb the gravy and have it with turkey necks.
- Leftovers: leftovers will also be a nice side dish with these mouthwatering turkey necks. We all usually have some leftovers in our refrigerator. You can heat the leftovers in the oven and enjoy them with your main course.
Tips and tricks to improve the recipe
Here are some tips and tricks to make the turkey neck recipe better with fewer efforts which will also make the dish tender and juicer:
- Turkey neck is dark meat which means it needs to be cooked for a long time. If you cook it faster than it needs to be, it may not turn out to be as good as you expected. So cook it nice and slow to have all the flavors as they were.
- You can add some nice little chopped vegetables like potato and carrot to make your dish taste well and also make it look good.
- You can also add some gravy to your dish to make it juicier and more delicious. All you have to do is to mix 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and cold water and then transfer it into hot broth. Do not forget to remove the necks before you make the gravy.
- You can add your favorite hot and spicy sauce to the pot to make the delicious aroma kick the flavors right.
Final words
This was all about mouth watering and my favorite dish, turkey neck. Make sure you try this recipe once in your life. You won’t get disappointed and will try this again and again. The dish gives you a royal and will live in your head rent-free. You can serve it in front of any of your guests, and they will love it too.
Sp, did you like the turkey neck recipe in a slow cooker? Please, feel free to leave your opinion in the comments below!
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