Turkey Neck Soup

Turkey Neck Soup is (unlike the equally distasteful sounding Bird’s Nest Soup) pretty much what it says – a soup whose stock is made from turkey necks. It is of course a soup American in origin, what with the Turkey being also American in origin. It’s also an example of what is now known as “Nose to Tail” eating, making use as it does of a part of the bird that one might not usually consider eating, but that really shouldn’t be wasted. As such, historically it also derives from the culture of the ‘Less Than Wealthy and Therefore Less Than Wasteful.’ Good, wholesome and sensible down-home food, which also explains why most of the references and recipes I found were from the Deep South. It figures frequently in menus from BBQ restaurants, so is evidently a staple.

The neck of the turkey is actually quite meaty. It’s fairly tough meat, what with the constant turkeyish activities of pecking and gobbling. Now tough meat actually has a lot more flavour than tender meat; you just need to cook it longer to get it tender, which brings out even more of the flavour. Which makes it perfect for soup.