Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy

Beebee2 · ‎03-09-2010

Martha Green is a local food celebrity whose recipes are very popular. For those who find turkey gravy to be 'an issue' this is a great solution. I'm starting early this year!

Martha Green’s Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy

4 turkey wings or other turkey parts, about 3 lb

2 med onions, peeled and quartered

1 c water

8 c chicken broth

3/4 c carrot, chopped

1/2 t dried thyme

3/4 c all-purpose flour

2 T butter or margarine

1/2 t freshly ground pepper

Heat oven to 400 deg F. Have ready a large roasting pan.

Arrange wings in a single layer in pan; scatter onions over the top. Roast 1 ¼ hours until wings are browned.

Put wings and onions into a 5-to-6 quart pot. Add water to roasting pan and stir to scrape up any brown bits on bottom. Add to pot. Add only 6 cups of chicken broth; refrigerate remaining 2 cups, the carrot and thyme. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered 1 ½ hours.

Remove wings to cutting board. When cool, pull off skin and meat. Discard skin; save meat for another use.

Strain broth into a 3-qt saucepan, pressing vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard vegetables. Skim fat off broth and discard. If time permits, refrigerate broth overnight to make fat-skimming easier.

Whisk remaining 2 cups broth slowly into flour until blended and smooth.

Bring broth pot to a gentle boil. Whisk-in broth/flour mixture and boil 3 to 4 minutes to thicken gravy and remove floury taste. Stir in butter and pepper.

Optional: a few drops of Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet may be added to deepen the gravy color and flavor.

Notes: Pour into containers and refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 6 months.

It takes about 3 hours to make this from start to finish. However, most of the time it is unattended. Don’t let the length of this deter you from trying it. It really does save a tremendous amount of time on Thanksgiving Day.

IamMrsG · ‎08-29-2010

BeeBee2, I want to thank you in advance of Thursday for sharing this recipe with us. Making the gravy at the last minute on Thanksgiving has always been a pain in the tookus for me, so I saved your post last year for using this year.

I started it today, and am at the stage where it is chilling to solidify the fat for easy skimming. Am presently debating whether I will finish it (thicken) today or wait 'til Thursday a.m.

Regardless, you might have single-handedly saved my sanity in the kitchen this Thanksgiving. I thank you. My husband thanks you. My guests thank you. ${#emotions_dlg.wub}$

Strive for respect instead of attention. It lasts longer.

iQue · ‎03-21-2010

I have made this gravy twice in the past couple of weeks. Used thighs and yes it is the best tasting gravy I have ever made. It may look like a lot of steps but it is very easy. I actually served the thighs that evening with mashed potatoes and gravy and they were delicious.

Beebee2 · ‎03-09-2010

Thanks Mrs. G, and all who responded, it's a timely useful post and I'm glad you brought it up again. My daughter is hosting Thanksgiving this year and fixing the turkey, so I'll send her this recipe, just in case.

chickenbutt · ‎03-09-2010

I have one little gravy helpful hint -

While you are waiting for your gravy to cool, so you can put into a container and into the refrigerator, take a piece of cellophane wrap and gently press it down onto the top of the gravy in the pot, completely covering the surface of the gravy. I wait until it's cooled just a tad from cooking, but not so much that it's getting skin.

By pressing the cellophane wrap down ONTO the top of the gravy in the pot/pan for cooling, you preclude the skin that will otherwise form on top. Then, when it's totally cooled and you can put it away, just gently remove the cellophane wrap and there will be no skin formed.

I figured this out one year when I had had enough of that skin on top because if you just try to mix it in, you end up with weird kind of lumps.

Beebee2 · ‎03-09-2010

On 11/24/2014 chickenbutt said:
I have one little gravy helpful hint -

While you are waiting for your gravy to cool, so you can put into a container and into the refrigerator, take a piece of cellophane wrap and gently press it down onto the top of the gravy in the pot, completely covering the surface of the gravy. I wait until it's cooled just a tad from cooking, but not so much that it's getting skin.

By pressing the cellophane wrap down ONTO the top of the gravy in the pot/pan for cooling, you preclude the skin that will otherwise form on top. Then, when it's totally cooled and you can put it away, just gently remove the cellophane wrap and there will be no skin formed.

I figured this out one year when I had had enough of that skin on top because if you just try to mix it in, you end up with weird kind of lumps.

Yes, and this works well with puddings and other things that you don't want drying out on the top. Thanks, cb. Good point to be made today.

I also like a similar tip for pouring a little olive oil on some things to keep them from drying out, like leftover tomato paste that you refrigerate instead of freezing, and other similar things.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

I always use the stuff in the bag - neck, organs etc and boil them with celery and onions to get broth. Then I melt 2 tbsp butter - add 2 tbsp of flour and cook it a min then add the strained broth and cook til it thickens. This will make about 3 to 4 cups of gravy.

mousiegirl · ‎03-09-2010

I can't imagine turkey gravy made without the wonderful drippings, where all of the flavor is, in my opinion.

Ranchergal · ‎03-10-2010

We switched to McCormick's packaged Turkey gravy a couple of years ago and no one knew the difference. I'll never go through the trouble of making homemade gravy again.

chickenbutt · ‎03-09-2010

On 11/24/2014 Ranchergal said:
We switched to McCormick's packaged Turkey gravy a couple of years ago and no one knew the difference. I'll never go through the trouble of making homemade gravy again.

The Knorr brand is even better! Just add a small pat of butter at the end, whisk it in, and *VOILA* - really nice turkey gravy.