from Matty Matheson: Home Style Cookery
This photo makes me laugh so much; it looks like a couple of logs, ya know? But let me tell you, turkey neck is the new oxtail and I have zero idea why it hasn’t caught on yet. I really don’t. One of the last meals I cooked for my grandmother was turkey neck stew, and she loved it. You will love this stew, and you will find turkey necks, and you could totally cut them into 3-inch (7.5 cm) pieces or smaller so they don’t look like turds. I love you guys.
Serves: 6
Prep time: 1 hour and 40 minutes
Ingredients
Stew:
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 pounds (900 g) turkey necks (ask your butcher to cut them into 5-inch/12.7 cm pieces)
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 cup (150 g) diced white onion
⅔ cup (100 g) diced carrot
⅔ cup (100 g) sliced celery
¼ cup (60 ml) tomato paste
¾ cup (200 ml) red wine
3 ½ cups (800 ml) chicken stock
½ cup (1 stick/115 g) unsalted butter
⅔ cup (150 g) all-purpose flour
½ pound (200 g) Tokyo turnips, cut in half, edges turned (means rounded edges)
½ pound (200 g) rutabaga, peeled, cut into wedges, edges turned
½ pound (200 g) butternut squash, peeled, cut into 1-inch (3 cm) wedges, edges turned
6 ounces (150 g) whole pearl onions, peeled
½ pound (200 g) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch (3 cm) wedges, edges turned
2 tablespoons olive oil Sea salt and lemon juice
Mashed Potatoes
5 pounds (2.2 kg) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
1¼ pounds (570 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
Kosher salt
Directions
Make the turkey neck stew: Heat the canola oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Season the turkey necks with 1 teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper and brown them on all sides, about 6 minutes; remove from the pot and rest on a plate. Discard about 70 percent of the fat from the pot. Lower heat to medium, add the onion, carrot, and celery, and cook for 12 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the tomato paste and cook for 4 minutes, then deglaze with the red wine and reduce the liquid by half. Return the necks to the pot and cover with the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour, or until the necks start to come apart. Take the necks out, strain the liquid through a fine chinois or strainer, and return the liquid to the pot; cook to reduce the liquid by two-thirds.
In a medium bowl, mix 1/2 cup (1 stick/115 g) of the butter and the flour together; slowly whisk the mixture into the liquid. Cook for 20 minutes to cook out the raw flour flavor and thicken the stew.
Meanwhile, make the mashed potatoes: Put the potatoes in a medium stockpot and cover with water; place the pot on the stove. Over high heat, bring potatoes to a boil; add salt until the water tastes like the sea. Turn down heat to medium-low. Cook the potatoes at a light simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until fork-tender; strain in a colander. Let the potatoes stand for 5 minutes.
Place a potato ricer over another pot; mill the cooked potatoes into the pot. Start adding the tempered, cubed butter to the potatoes; fold until butter is absorbed. Taste for seasoning, then cover with lid and keep warm.
Working in batches, in a large skillet over medium heat sauté the turnips, rutabaga, squash, pearl onions, and potatoes in the olive oil until fork-tender; add a little water and cover the pan if they brown too quickly, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a large stockpot, add the turkey necks, and ladle the reduced braising liquid over the top until you reach your desired stew consistency. Bring to a light simmer and add the sea salt and lemon juice.
Serve the stew family-style with your mash.
Nada’s Tips & Tricks: I use everything that comes in the little pouch tucked into the bird’s cavity – neck, liver, heart – to make the gravy for the “big dinner” but now I have another use for it. Add the heart and liver to the stew for extra turkey flavour. I added mushrooms for a heartier stew. Only worry about the fancy veggie cuts if you’re serving this scrumptious stew to a fancy chef!
Reprinted with permission from Matty Matheson: Home Style Cookery by Matty Matheson. Abrams, 2020. Photo credit: Quentin Bacon https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/matty-matheson-home-style-cookery_9781419747489/
