What Are Turkey Gizzards?

It’s your first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner in your home. The table is set, a Maggie Rogers record is slowly spinning on the turntable, and you’ve got one large task to perform before the guests arrive–preparing the perfect Thanksgiving turkey. You place the thawed turkey on a roasting pan and take off your rings, roll up your sweater sleeves, and brace as you slide your entire arm into the cavity searching for the pièce de résistance; the turkey gizzard nestled inside the giblet bag.

Most supermarket turkeys come complete with a giblet pouch, a neat little bag stuffed inside their cavity containing the neck, liver, heart, and gizzard. Turkey gizzards are one of the most versatile giblets; they can be used to add a depth of flavor to stuffing and gravy, but they can also be deep fried and enjoyed as a crunchy snack.  Some folks even pickle gizzards.

What Is a Turkey Gizzard? 

Why does a turkey have a gizzard in the first place? The gizzard is a crucial part of the bird’s digestive process. Like chickens, turkeys  can’t chew their food. (Can you imagine what a chicken would look like with teeth?! No thank you.) Instead, these birds swallow little pebbles and grit to store in their gizzards. When they eat, the food is forced through the muscular gizzard, which contracts and squeezes, grinding up the food with the pebbles.

How to Use Turkey Gizzards

Now that you know how the turkey uses its gizzard, what are the best ways for you to use it?  Gizzards taste like intense dark meat with a touch of tangy gaminess, which makes them a great candidate for adding flavor, most commonly in broths for a turkey gravy or Southern dressing.

But turkey gizzards can also be shared as an appetizer or side dish. Heidi Diestel, a fourth-generation family farmer at Diestel Family Ranch says that breaded and fried gizzards are a Thanksgiving must-have. “Gizzards are a fun, unique and chewy (in the best way) addition to the menu,” she says adding that you can tenderize the gizzards or “embrace the chew” when preparing them.

Frying gizzards is as easy as frying chicken. Marinate the gizzards overnight in a buttermilk marinade such as the one found in this Crispy Buttermilk Fried Chicken recipe, then toss the gizzards in seasoned flour and deep fry the same way you would with chicken. Serve with a zesty dipping sauce such as honey mustard or Southern Comeback Sauce loaded with mayo, chile sauce, spicy mustard, and ketchup.

Why You Should Use Your Thanksgiving Turkey Gizzard

Not only does your turkey’s gizzard add a full-bodied meatiness to gravy or dressing, it’s also part of a bigger picture. According to the University of Minnesota, more than 305 million pounds of food are wasted on Thanksgiving alone. “Utilizing all parts of the bird shows great respect to the animal and is a fun and unique way to bring some sustainable action into your meal” Diestel says, stressing the importance of cutting down food waste during large celebrations.

Cooking with gizzards might be a little intimidating at first, however once you taste the richness they impart to dishes and how important it is to utilize every part of the turkey, you’ll never want to prepare Thanksgiving dinner any other way.