This turkey neck soup is light, savory, and comforting. Often underutilized and underrated in American cooking, turkey neck is full of flavor and shines at its brightest in this recipe.
Turkey neck soup is a comfort food staple in Ukrainian households. When I was feeling sick or in need of a meal that felt like a hug, my mom would make a large batch of turkey neck soup and my troubles would melt away (even if only for a moment). This recipe comes straight from her cookbook and will soon find its way onto your dinner table during the cold, winter months.
Okay, so let’s address the elephant in the room: turkey necks. You may be raising your eyebrow at the thought of cooking with them, but rest assured they are absolutely delicious and insanely underrated. You can even go as far as to say that the necks are the most delicious part of the entire turkey…
What is Turkey Neck Soup?
Turkey neck soup is a simple dish made of homemade broth, turkey necks, rice, potatoes, and fresh herbs. Below, find a rundown of the flavor, texture, and cooking time.
- Flavor: Much like that of a classic chicken noodle soup, turkey neck soup is light yet savory.
- Texture: The texture of the soup broth is silky and contrasted with the fall-off-the-bone turkey neck meat and tender potatoes and rice.
- Time: From prep to finish, this soup takes just under two hours to make.
How to Make Turkey Neck Soup
It only requires a couple of steps, one pot, and a handful of simple ingredients to make the perfect turkey neck soup. Below, find a quick overview of the recipe.
- Make the Broth: In a large soup pot, boil the turkey neck, onion, and carrots until the turkey meat falls off the neck bones. Remove turkey necks and set aside. Drain the broth through a colander to remove the big chunks of carrot and onion. Return the turkey necks and broth to the soup pot.
- Add the Rice & Potatoes: Add the rice to the soup pot and simmer until fully cooked. Once the rice is cooked, add in the diced potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.
- Season & Serve: Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh green onion and dill. Enjoy!
Tips for Making the Best Turkey Neck Soup
Below, find a collection of tips and tricks to help you make the your turkey neck soup better.
- Slow cook the broth. Allowing the turkey necks and veggies to slow cook brings out the richest tasting broth. Your whole house will fill up with the aroma!
- Use fresh herbs versus dried. Garnish the soup with fresh herbs versus dried. There is just no comparison when it comes to flavor!
- Slice the carrots and onions big. Slice the carrots and onions big enough so they are easy to drain from the broth. Also, feel free to leave the onion skin on – it packs a ton of flavor! Just make sure to rinse it beforehand to rid it of dirt.
Serving Turkey Neck Soup
Turkey neck soup is best served on a cold day, when you’re feeling a bit under the weather, or you’re just looking for a big bowl of comfort. You can eat it all on its own as a meal, or pair it with some fresh baguette to sop up the broth. If you’re serving it for dinner, pair it with a classic garden salad or an air fryer grilled cheese.
Storing Turkey Neck Soup
- Refrigerator: Store leftover turkey neck soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It would keep for up to a week and get more flavorful as it marinates in itself, making for some pretty awesome leftovers.
- Freezer: Not recommended. Upon reheating, the potatoes will turn to mush and ruin the light consistency of the soup.
FAQ
Are turkey necks healthy?
Turkey necks are super healthy for you! They are packed with protein, vitamins, and a rich dark meat flavor.
Where can I buy turkey necks?
You can find turkey necks at most butcher counters and grocery stores. They will come ready to use and cleaned and trimmed of any excess fat or gristle.
How do you keep turkey necks tender?
The key to tender turkey necks is to boil them. This might seem counterintuitive when you think about the toughness of other boiled meats, but it’s the best method for yielding ultra-tender turkey neck meat.
Other Ways You Can Use Turkey Necks
There are tons of other ways you can use the ultra flavorful turkey neck. Below, find a couple more recipes to try.
- Roasted Turkey Necks Recipe – Simple and fun to eat
- Uzbek Plov – Replace the lamb with turkey necks for a delicious pilaf
- Stewed Cabbage with Meat – Boil the turkey necks for 30-40 minutes and add them straight in
More Ukrainian/Russian Recipes
- Buckwheat Meat Patties – Hearty meat patties
- Egg and Sprats Canapes – Beautiful appetizer toasts
- Chebureki – Russian fried dumplings
- Old Fashioned Goulash – Beef and macaroni dish
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb turkey necks
- 2 carrots
- 1 yellow onion
- 1/3 cup rice
- 2 potatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
- 1 tbsp salt adjust to taste
- 1 tsp ground black pepper adjust to taste
- 3 qt water
Instructions
- Chop the carrot and onion into large pieces (no need to make it fancy, you will remove them from the broth later). In a large pot, boil the turkey necks, onion, and carrots for 60-90 minutes, or until the turkey meat falls off the neck bone.
- Remove turkey necks from the broth and set aside. Drain the broth through a colander to remove the chunks of onion and carrots.
- Place turkey necks and broth back into the large soup pot. Add in rice and let it simmer on low for about 20 minutes.
- Once the rice is cooked, add in the diced potato. Let the soup simmer until all ingredients are fully cooked. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with a sprinkling of fresh dill and green onion.
Slava Ukraini. It is on the stove now!
Hi Joe, I hope you love it as much as we do!
Really small
Hi there, what are you referring to specifically?
Turkey necks have such small bones. Is there ever an issue with this or Maybe take the meat off the neck?
Hi Donna, I have not had an issue with the bones. and the meat comes off very easily.
Hi Natalya! I'm excited to add this to my soup recipes. I'm a bit worried about actually cooking the rice in the broth instead of separately, for fear of it getting all starchy. Your thoughts, please?
Hi Joan - We throw it directly in, as we like a little starch to thicken the broth. However, you could totally use cooked rice instead. Hope this helps and thanks for reaching out!
Hi Natalya! I made just how you posted (added 2 garlic cloves) and it came out amazing, delicious, and beautiful to look at....restaurant quality. Thanks....
So happy to hear that, Joan!Thank you for the feedback!
How much water do you boil in?
Hi Elizabeth - Thanks for catching that Elizabeth! It's 3 quarts of water. I'll update that in the recipe card now. Hope you enjoy the soup and Happy New Year!
Going to try turkey necks for the first time because of your site, very intrigued. Question for the soup- would it be beneficial to brown the turkey necks in the pot before making the broth? Or roast them? I’m going to use them later, the bones at least, for making bone broth.
Hi Suzanne - How cool! We are huge fans of turkey necks over here and that makes us so happy. We never brown the necks before using them in this particular soup, so not too sure how it would turn out. We do, however, have a separate recipe for roasted turkey necks. Find it here: https://momsdish.com/recipe/5…. If you do trying roasting the necks for the soup, let us know how you liked it. Thanks for reaching out and Happy New Year!
First time trying this, almost ready to add rice and potato's, smell very good, and so healthy!
Woooo! Hope you love it, David. That is one of my favorite smells of all time. Let us know how it turns out!
Oh Im going to try this with my home made noodles instead of potatoes!
That sounds like an awesome idea, please follow up and let me know how it goes, I would love to hear about how your variation goes 🙂
Could this work in a instant pot?
Hey Lora! Thanks for reaching out. I've never tried it myself, but I don't see why not. The Instant Pot will likely make the turkey necks so tender. Let us know how it turns out for you...we'd love to hear your feedback!
If cooking in the instant pot would I cook all the ingredients at the same time?
Hey Lana, you would need to shorten cooking time. I think the broth can be done with in 30 minutes and you dont want to overcook potatoes. Are you thinking just to make broth and finish it off in a pot?
How much water or broth to cook the necks in?
Hin Bonnie, 3 quarts would be great in this recipe. Enjoy
This is such a comforting soup and definitely a new favorite of ours! So delicious and very tasty. Absolutely excited to make this again especially since the colder months are coming up soon!
I am so glad you loved the recipe, thank you for taking the time to comment!
Thanks a lot for this delicious and really easy to make turkey neck soup recipe! Highly recommended!
So glad you enjoyed it, thank you very much!
Every Thanksgiving my dad and I fight over the turkey neck. My favorite part! It always tastes better than the rest of the turkey. I never thought about buying the neck separately before! Genius! Soup is delicious and such a great new way to serve up the best part of the bird!
It is such an underrated part of a turkey, I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thank you for taking the time to comment!
Potatoes were not mentioned in the ingredients. Do we cook potatoes at start with all the other veggies?
If you look at the ingredients list, they are listed there. You would add them in step 4. Enjoy
all those likes and no one noticed that you didn't mention Bay leaves in the ingredients, but... there are Bay leaves in the photos.
Which way is it?
It's totally optional. You can add a few to the mix. I will make a note in the reicpe. Thanks