Turkey Gravy: How do you make yours?

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Chief's Turkey Gravy

Though the everything that made the gravy was the same, my wife wanted it thickend with cornstarc slurry, while I much prefered using a roux as my prefered thickemer. That being the case, here's my gravy.

ingredients:
Turkey neck
all giblets
extra turkey wings purchased separately
1 celery rib
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp. rubbed sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic powder
1/2 onion, minced
3 tbs. butter
3 tbs. AP flour
1 tbs. butter for turkey wings1 quart water

Preheat oven to 450' F. Rub extra wings with salted butter. Place on foil lined baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, or until the develop a golden brown skin.

While the wings a browning, mince the onion, and celery. Melt the butter in a frying pan, and add the veggies. Cook over medium heat until soft. Remove from heat, and set aside.

Place water into a saucepan, along with the giblets, herbs, salt, and roasted wings. Bring to a gentle boil, cover, ad cook over low heat for 30 minutes.

While the broth is cooking, prepare your bird for roasting. Taste, and correct the broth seasoning. Remove to a bowl, cool and place into the fridge until after the sides, and turkey are cooked.

While the bird is resting, reheat the broth to a gentle boil, along with the onions, and butter in the frying pan. Deglaze the turkey roasting pan with a cup of the broth, and pour back into the pot. Add the flour to the onion/butter mixture, and stir into a smooth paste (roux). Ladle broth into the roux to make a thick sauce. Remove the neck, wings, and giblets to a plate. i like to chop the giblets and add them, and all the meat i can get off of the neck, and wings, into my dressing. The neck meat is some of the tastiest meat on the turkey. Slowly stir the thinned roux back into the broth to thicken. Your gravy is now ready to get you compliments for your hard work. Don't forget to save the oysters, and left over neck meat for the cook's treat, and that secret treat for someone special.

How do you make your gravy?

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I don't make turkey gravy, Heinz does. But I do use your recipe, except for the butter and flour, to make the stock for my stuffing!

 

[Roll_Bones]

Sounds good. I make a turkey stock from scratch with aromatics. Then I pour the turkey drippings into a fat separator.
I make a roux with the separated turkey fat. and use it to thicken. But I did not use any herbs and that sounds like it would kick it up a notch. Usually I just use salt and pepper.
I do season the turkey very well.
S&P, granulated garlic and my creole seasoning. This give the drippings a lot of flavor.

 

[msmofet]

Turkey Stock - Oven roasted seasoned turkey wings. Use some broth or water to deglaze the roasting pan. Add wings and deglazed bits/broth to stock pot, then simmered in turkey stock (Trader Joe's or Kitchen Basics) for about 2 hours. Sometimes I add carrots, onion and celery to the stock, otherwise it's just plain turkey flavored stock. Strain and reserve meat for gravy or soup. Allow stock to cool overnight. Comes out like jello.

My aunt made see through cornstarch gravy. NOT good for reheating because cornstarch gravy breaks.

My gravy is thickened with a roux. Butter, flour, dry poultry seasoning only cooked for a minute or two. Turkey stock (and gravy master to taste) added and cooked to desired thickness. Reserved cooked wing meat, salt, ground pepper and fresh finely chopped herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme) added to finished gravy to taste.

 

[CharlieD]

Many years ago I learn how to make gravy thanks to this forum.
Important thing is to remember the formula 2:2:1. @ table spoon flour, 2 table spoon butter/oil (fat), 1 cup liquid.
If you remember that and keep the proportions and use seasoning that You Like, you'll have a good gravy.
Having said that I use red wine for liquid and olive oil for fat. Separately I sauté onions and mushrooms and at the end mix them with gravy. My family likes mushroom gravy a lot. For seasoning I like garlic salt - 1 part, paprika, cayenne - 1 part, pepper - 1/8 part, and brown sugar - 1/8 part.

 

[Farmer Jon]

When I make my turkey I put it on a rack in a roasting pan. I fill the bottom if the pan with homemade chicken stock. When the turkey is done I remove all the liquid into a large skillet. I add in some of the water from the boiled potatoes and thicken it with flour. Garlic salt and pepper to taste. It makes a ton of gravy and it is really good!

 

[CharlieD]

Many years ago I learn how to make gravy thanks to this forum.
Important thing is to remember the formula 2:2:1. @ table spoon flour, 2 table spoon butter/oil (fat), 1 cup liquid.
If you remember that and keep the proportions and use seasoning that You Like, you'll have a good gravy.
Having said that I use red wine for liquid and olive oil for fat. Separately I sauté onions and mushrooms and at the end mix them with gravy. My family likes mushroom gravy a lot. For seasoning I like garlic salt - 1 part, paprika - 1 part, cayenne pepper - 1/8 part, and brown sugar - 1/8 part.

I fixed the amounts. I wish the forum would just allow to edit posts any time, not just 20 minutes.

 

[bethzaring]

I make my gravy the day before or the morning of the feast. I will be using the drippings for last Christmas' turkey. And I will harvest and freeze the drippings from this Thanksgivings turkey for Christmas or next Thanksgivings' gravy. I simmer the giblets and use the broth as needed for the gravy.

 

[GotGarlic]

I buy a few pounds of turkey necks a couple weeks ahead of Thanksgiving. I roast them with a couple carrots, an onion, a few celery sticks and a head of garlic, roughly chopped. Then I put it all in a stock pot, deglaze the roasting pan with white wine and add the fond, etc., to the pot. Cover all with water and simmer for a couple of hours. Strain and freeze to use in the gravy and stuffing.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

I can't make good gravy to save my soul, promise!
I just plain ole suck at it.
I no longer make an entire Bird so there's that.
I make a Jennie-O (b/s) Turkey Breast Loin and pop a box of
Trader Joe's Turkey Stock for the Dressing Casserole
and a box of their Turkey Gravy, which is delicious!

 

[Farmer Jon]

I make my gravy the day before or the morning of the feast. I will be using the drippings for last Christmas' turkey. And I will harvest and freeze the drippings from this Thanksgivings turkey for Christmas or next Thanksgivings' gravy. I simmer the giblets and use the broth as needed for the gravy.

That is a great idea. Gravy is always the last thing I get done. This would speed the process.

 

[karadekoolaid]

I roast the turkey over a bed of peaches/apricots, mango maybe, onions, garlic and a load of orange juice and white wine. The turkey is usually injected with white wine before roasting. The turkey juices drip into the base as it cooks and the resulting residue is blended, reduced, then thickened with a roux if necessary.

 

[jennyema]

When I make my turkey I put it on a rack in a roasting pan. I fill the bottom if the pan with homemade chicken stock. When the turkey is done I remove all the liquid into a large skillet. I add in some of the water from the boiled potatoes and thicken it with flour. Garlic salt and pepper to taste. It makes a ton of gravy and it is really good!

But if you have a lot of liquid in the bottom of the pan you never develop the dark brown carmelized fond that gives great gravy its color and deep rich taste

 

[Roll_Bones]

But if you have a lot of liquid in the bottom of the pan you never develop the dark brown carmelized fond that gives great gravy its color and deep rich taste

I put a cup of stock in the roasting pan under the turkey on rack. I just did it a few minutes ago. We are eating today.
Makes clean up easier and I use the drippings and more stock to make the gravy.
Since we add more stock ( I am cooking for 18) at the end to make the gravy I see no issue with adding some to the roasting pan. Stock is to be added anyway. So either way you look at it, I see no advantage to NOT adding some stock to the roasting pan. But I do get your point.

Note: I am not excited about my stuffing/dressing. I used ciabatta bread with all the traditional ingredients but used some Italian sausage instead of breakfast sausage. The flavor is different and I must not have fortified the dried cubes with enough seasonings.
I considered dumping it all out into a real big bowl and re-seasoning.
But my wife said it was good and would be even better when we re-heat it. That gravy going on it would make it great.
I had a similar issue last year and added more of everything. But its lacking that traditional taste.
From now on if I cannot find seasoned bread cubes I will order them online. And I will not use Italian sausage.
In a perfect world this will be the last time I cook for Thanksgiving.

 

[Roll_Bones]

Update: All went very well yesterday. Turkey was moist and flavorful. Dressing while not perfect it was very good.
The gravy was excellent. The kids and family members food was also very good. The desserts were great. Especially the store bought vanilla cake. So moist!
And lastly the turkey was plenty. I did not need to cut up the Kirkland Master Carve ham. But it was almost gone again.
Also we have plenty left overs.
Everyone had a good time and we received many thanks. Happy Thanksgiving Discuss Cooking members and visitors!