Monday, 8 March 2021

Cajun Turkey Neck and Dumplings


 Belly Full on a Budget

My first turkey neck ever and it was quite yummy. This one pot of delicious turkey neck and dumplings was super filling. The epitome of a belly full on a budget. I’m not sure why turkey neck has such mixed reviews. People act as if it is disgusting or it doesn’t taste good. But this tasted really good to me. I felt like I was eating jumbo chicken necks. I have never had turkey neck before. If you are a lover of turkey neck keep reading.

 Everyone who has had it before who tried this one kept saying it doesn’t taste like turkey neck (in a good way) And no matter how much I tried to get them to explain they just couldn’t explain what they meant. They all agreed it was absolutely delicious, and kept saying it is like their eating some other type of meat and not turkey neck. I’m just going to assume that’s good.

 Now turkey neck is super cheap. only $230 JMD or around $1.50 usd per pound. And I'm sure it can be it is probably cheaper somewhere else. The smoked turkey neck is double the price. So for this recipe, I used a fresh non-smoked turkey neck. I considered mixing them, but I wasn’t sure how the texture of the smoked turkey neck would differ from that of the fresh so I decided to just use 100 percent fresh turkey neck and really see how I could amp up the natural flavors.

I would absolutely cook turkey neck again, it seems to have a stigma here in Jamaica. People see it as only for poor people who can’t afford “quality” meats but honestly, I think it’s a really good meat item to keep in the freezer to whip up for dinner. I for sure will continue to buy it and cook it. I want to try brown stew next time which is the most popular way to cook it here. I'm also going to try it bbq and curry. These will be posted to Instagram so make sure to follow me to keep up with this newfound love for turkey necks.

 


Ingredients (printable recipe)

 to clean turkey neck
2 lb fresh turkey neck
1 lime
1-2 cup vinegar
to season
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon lime juice
2 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika.
3 teaspoon salt
to stew
4 tablespoon oil
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup finely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves shredded
5 sprigs thyme
4 cups water
1 bouillon stock cube (I use 1 tablespoon better than bouillon beef flavor)
2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
½ cup sliced red bell pepper
flour dumpling
2 cup flour
¾ cup water

 

Instructions

To clean and season

  • Cutaway the silver skin-like layer on the outsides of the turkey necks. It is a membrane that is white/gray and thin. Cut away any excess fat, alto remove the esophagus in the center of the bone, it will have a white fatty substance inside. a wooden skewer pushed through gets it out very well.
  • Next, the turkey neck has to be washed thoroughly with vinegar and lime or lemon. it cuts the rawness
  • once washed pat dry to remove as much water as possible then season with cajun seasoning, sugar, lime juice, oil, onion powder, paprika, and salt. let it marinate overnight
To stew
  • preheat the oven to 350 
  • heat the oil and brown the turkey necks on both sides
  • add the onions, celery, garlic, thyme, and carrots.
  • saute until the veggies are soft
  • add water and 1 bouillon stock cube
  • Cover and place in the oven to cook for 1.5 hours
  • once the turkey necks are tender remove them from the oven and place them on the stovetop over medium heat.
  • knead together the flour and water to form a dough and shape it into small round dumplings
  • put the dumplings in the pot of stew to cook
  • add more cajun seasonings and red peppers and allow them to reduce and thicken.
  • If the sauce is thick before the dumplings are fully cooked add 1 cup of boiling water and allow it to cook and reduce (repeat if necessary)
  • taste for seasoning if it needs more salt or spice add it here
  • Serve over rice or eat as is. The dumplings in it are filling enough that you won't need any additional carbs.
  • Greedy Tips:
  • My cajun seasoning was a low-sodium version, with hardly any salt so I needed to add more salt. it also needed more pepper so feel free to make it as spicy as you like




Xoxo Greedygirl

No comments:

Post a Comment