Steph and I Broke the Gravy Rules

[mudbug]

My kid sis and I were in charge of making gravy for Thanksgving. It rocked, and we made about 6 cups.

We used ALL of the drippings from the roasting pan. Didn't even bother to dump any out, just started shaking flour over it. Maybe half a cup of flour in all. We kinda made a roux first, but kept whisking and adding what looked right at the moment (flour, butter, or liquid). Lotta butter -probably half a stick when it was all said and done.

For liquid, we used a carton of Kitchen Basics chicken stock, plus the cooking water (2 cups?) from the turkey neckbone, which I had boiled up with a couple hunks of celery, a few baby carrots, about a quarter of on onion, some peppercorns, and salt. I shredded out the meat and added it at the last minute.

Oh, and we did it all in the turkey roasting pan over two burners.

For somebody who could not make decent gravy until the last year or so, I have to preen a little and say "YEAH! 'At's what I'm talkin' about!"

 

[kadesma]

Way to go Mudbug I did pretty much the same thing for the first time in ages. It turned out so good for a change...Here's a pat on the back girl (pat,pat,pat)...
kadesma

 

[BigDog]

Broke what gravy rules? That's how my grandpa has been making it for years! 1 tbsp butter for every tbsp of flour. All of the drippings, and chicken stock/broth to increase quantity, cooked over 2 burners in the roasting pan. I modified into a regular pot after deglazing the roasting pan to get those good yum yums because my disposable roaster was retarded.

 

[Constance]

I tried something this year that I'd never done before. I kneaded the flour into the butter, then added it a little a time to my simmering juices. Then I stirred in a little sour cream just before I served it. Yummeee!

 

[JoyC]

Was organized this year and made the gravy a month ago - bought some turkey legs roasted them with some vegies and then made a broth - used butter for the fat added flour and then the turkey broth had to darken it a bit with some burnt sugar and put about 2 quarts of gravy in the freezer - sure made it easier on t-day
Joyce

 

[Piccolina]

That's pretty much how I make gravy from a big turkey or other piece of meat too (lol, so I'm not alone on using the roasting pan on the stove top ). I've found it seems to yield more total gravy than doing it other ways. I also like using cornstarch or arrowroot instead of wheat based flours, as it often results in less lumps in the finished product (mind you, you need to mix the cornstarch with a little cold water first and once it's disolved in the cold water add the mix, slowly, to your pan of drippings and stock.) Making up some chicken stock ahead of time and having it in the freezer is really handy too.

 

[mudbug]

I kneaded the flour into the butter, then added it a little a time to my simmering juices.

We decided to do this too, Connie, late in the gravy game. Called a beurre manie, if I have my French correctly.

 

[marmalady]

Way to go, Mudbug - and now you can take your newfound skill and use it for any kind of roast you make!

Sometimes I add a little splash of white wine to the mix, just for a little brightness.

I've also started making my gravies with cornstarch instead of flour; I think it makes a little lighter gravy.

 

[Schadenfreude]

I do the roasting pan on 2 burners, too!

This year we used a dark Calphalon nonstick pan, and the drippings were more flavorful than EVER before. It was a lovely plus. No need to add any fat, just dumped in some organic chicken stock and a flour/water slurry, a bit at a time until the flour was cooked through. Everyone commented on what a STRONG turkey flavor - it really turned out perfect. I followed a tip from Alton Brown and added a little extra stock at the end, to make it slightly runnier than I like before serving. By the time people got to it, it had thickened up and was still pourable.

 

[buckytom]

that sounds so good 'bug.
that's the way my mom has made gravy as far back as i can remember. unfortunately, i am not allowed to make "full fat" gravy. i have to remove the drippings, put them into one of those measuring cups with the spout attached towards the bottom, a put it into the fridge to let the fat rise to the top. then i can use it to make gravy.
the down side is that it's not de-fatted enough when the bird is ready to eat, so i have to use turkey stock from a previous turkey.
and i agree with marm about using cornstarch. i have recently started using it to make pan gravies, and it does make buttered gravies a little lighter.

here's a bit about thickeners: http://www.foodsubs.com/ThickenStarch.html

 

[Sandyj]

Mudbug, I agree with everybody here so far - how you made the gravy sounds great (I also put the roasting pan on two burners). What rules did you break? I like all the other ideas presented here for making gravy, too. Sandy

 

[mudbug]

Sandy, I guess I thought the rules we broke were many:

First, make a roux with only some of the fat (bucky's wife would approve) We didn't do that.

Don't re-roux. We did. Coupla times (see beurre manie above).

Make turkey stock. We didn't.

Use all giblets except the liver for making stock. I just boiled up the neckbone and threw the rest out, to the consternation of BIL, who wanted to give them to the dog.

One burner was teeny and the other was about right. We shoulda used the other side of the stovetop.

Season. I don't think we did this either.

All I can say is we had beaucoup deelish gravy and I'm still kicking myself for not bringing some home.

I will however try the cornstarch idea in the near future.

 

[Robo410]

broke the rules? don't think so!