Smoked Turkey Necks

Pieces of turkey neck on a plate with dipping sauce

Learn how to make some delicious fall-off-the-bone smoked turkey necks. The meat is slowly cooked until completely tender and definitely worth the wait. Go on and impress your family or guests with this super easy recipe for the holidays.

Course Appetiser

Cuisine American, Caribbean

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 2 10

Total Time 2 40

Servings people

Calories 418kcal

Author Charla

Ingredients

For the wet rub

2-2½ lb turkey neck (1.13kg)
3 tablespoon olive oil (42g)
2 tablespoon homemade browning sauce (30g) only use this amount if you are using MY homemade version, see notes
1 teaspoon hot sauce (4g)
3 tablespoon soy(a) sauce (54g)
2 tablespoon all purpose seasoning (30g)
1½ tablespoon brown sugar 18g)
1 teaspoon onion granules (2g) or powder
1 teaspoon garlic granules (3g) or powder
2 teaspoon fresh thyme (4g) stems removed
2 teaspoon fresh shado beni (10g) chopped
1 teaspoon black pepper (2g)
1 teaspoon pink salt (6g)

For the gravy/dipping sauce

leftover dripping
2 teaspoon tomato paste (12g)
3 sprigs of fresh thyme (3g)
pink salt to taste

Instructions

To make the wet rub

Place the turkey necks in a large bowl or zip lock bag.
Mix the olive oil, browning sauce, soy(a) sauce, hot sauce, all purpose seasoning, brown sugar, onion granules, garlic granules, thyme, shado beni, black pepper and pink salt in a small bowl.
Do a taste test of the rub before adding it to the turkey neck to ensure that there is enough pink salt and adjust accordingly.
Drizzle and coat the meat with the wet rub and leave to marinate or several hours or overnight (if you are using a zip lock bag be sure to secure it).
Preheat the smoker to 248F/120C and prepare your wood chips (I used apple wood).
Remove the turkey necks from the marinade and place them on the smoker racks (being careful not to overcrowd).
Smoke the turkey necks for 2 hours, check them frequently and rotate them if necessary to ensure even cooking. You will want to smoke the meat until it reaches an internal temperature of 165F/74C (a themometer can determine its readiness).
Once cooked, leave the turkey neck to rest.

To prepare the gravy

While it is resting, prepare the gravy, in a medium sized saucepan, on medium heat.
Add the turkey stock, tomato paste, drippings from the turkey neck and thyme.
Stir until a thick-ish gravy is formed (this should take several minutes).
Do a taste test and add pink salt and black pepper if needed.Add the turkey neck to the saucepan (this is an optional step) and coat with the gravy.
Alternatively, you can skip the above step and serve the gravy on the side as a dipping sauce.
Serve accordingly.

Notes

For best results, eat the turkey neck immediately.
If you are using store bought browning sauce then use no more than 1 teaspoon
If you need to re-heat, wrap the meat, tightly in foil and place in the oven to heat through.
Here are the links to the Browning Sauce, the All Purpose Seasoning and Hot Sauce recipe.
Any leftovers should be refrigerated and eaten within 3 days.
If you cannot get onion/garlic granules use the powdered version instead.
Make sure the meat is cooked through, if it is your first time smoking turkey necks then use a thermometer to ensure its readiness.
If you cannot get hold of any shado beni then use coriander instead.
Make sure to do a taste test of the marinade before applying it to the meat.
You can use dried thyme instead.
Make sure the turkey neck is thoroughly washed and blotted dry before starting the recipe.
You can use either an indoor or outdoor smoker to make this recipe.
I used apple wood chips but you may want to use another flavoured wood chip(s).

Nutrition