Around Thanksgiving, Nana would stock up on turkey necks. And whatever she didn’t use for gravy, she’d freeze for gumbo. We always knew to expect this turkey gumbo shortly after the holiday since the celebration generally left us too broke to splurge on fancy food.

　　This recipe was excerpted from ‘Homage’ by Chris Scott. Buy the full book on Amazon.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 8

　　½ cup (120 ml) vegetable or canola oil

　　3 cups (420 g) finely diced onion

　　3 cups (360 g) finely diced green bell peppers

　　3 cups (360 g) finely diced red bell peppers

　　3 cups (360 g) finely diced celery

　　3 Tbsp. minced garlic

　　18 turkey necks

　　1 cup (140 g) all-purpose flour

　　3 Tbsp. filé powder (available in specialty stores or online)

　　12 cups (2.8 L) chicken stock

　　1 Tbsp. dried thyme

　　Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

　　Hot sauce

　　Cooked white rice, for serving

　　

Step 1

In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, bell peppers, celery, and garlic and cook for 3 minutes, or until translucent. Add the turkey necks and caramelize for about 8 minutes. Remove the necks from the pot and set aside. Add the flour and filé powder to the pot to make a roux and stir continuously for 25 minutes, until it is dark brown.

　　

Step 2

Return the turkey necks to the pot along with the chicken stock and thyme. Stir and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 1 hour.

　　

Step 3

Skim the excess fat off the top of the gumbo. Season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce and serve over the rice.

　　Reprinted from Homage by Chris Scott with Sarah Zorn, with permission from Chronicle Books, 2022. Photographs © Brittany Conerly. Buy the book from Amazon or Chronicle.