Basic Turkey Gravy Recipes

Steps:

• Pour turkey drippings into a 2-cup measuring cup. Skim fat, reserving 2 tablespoons; set aside. Add enough broth to the drippings to measure 2 cups., In a small saucepan, combine flour and reserved fat until smooth. Gradually stir in the drippings mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.

Steps:

• Pour turkey drippings and loosened browned bits from roasting pan into a 4-cup measuring cup. Skim fat, reserving 2 tablespoons. Add enough broth to the drippings to measure 3 cups., In a large saucepan, whisk flour, 3/4 cup broth and reserved fat until smooth. Add thyme, sage and pepper; gradually whisk in the drippings mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until thickened.

Steps:

• Pour drippings from roasting pan into bowl, leaving brown particles in pan. Return 1/4 cup drippings to roasting pan. (Measure accurately because too little fat makes gravy lumpy.) Stir in flour. (Measure accurately so gravy is not greasy.)
• Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Stir in liquid. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in salt and pepper.

Steps:

• When your turkey goes into the oven, start the broth: Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and turkey neck and giblets; cook, stirring, until the giblets are browned, about 15 minutes. Add the chicken broth, herb sprigs and bay leaf; cover and simmer while the turkey roasts, about 2 hours. Strain the broth and keep warm; reserve the neck and giblets, if desired.
• When your turkey is done, transfer it to a cutting board and pour all the pan drippings into a degreasing cup. Add 1/2 cup of the prepared broth to the roasting pan and scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. (If the bits are stuck, put the pan over a low burner to loosen them.) Add the bits and liquid to the degreasing cup.
• Let the fat rise to the top of the degreasing cup, then spoon off 1/2 cup fat and transfer to a large saucepan over medium heat. Make a roux: Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the flour browns slightly, about 4 minutes.
• Gradually add the hot broth to the roux, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low. Pour the dark roasting juices from the degreasing cup into the gravy, discarding any remaining fat. If desired, chop the giblets and shred the neck meat; add to the gravy. Simmer, whisking occasionally, until the gravy thickens, about 10 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the flavored butter, if desired.
• Start with cold heavy cream and mix on high speed.
• After about 3 minutes, you'll have whipped cream; continue mixing.
• After about 6 more minutes, the butter will clump and separate from the liquid. Strain and wrap the butter in cheesecloth, then squeeze out the liquid.
• Tip: To make perfect rounds, shape flavored butter into a log using parchment paper; wrap and chill, then slice.
• Pumpkin
• Mash 1/4 cup canned pure pumpkin, 1 stick softened butter, 1/4 teaspoon orange zest, 1/2 teaspoon each sugar and pumpkin pie spice, and a pinch of salt.
• Spiced Cranberry
• Simmer 1/2 cup cranberries with 1 tablespoon water, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 strip lemon zest, 1 cinnamon stick and 1 clove, 6 to 8 minutes. Discard the zest, cinnamon and clove; let cool. Pulse in a food processor with 1 stick softened butter and a pinch of salt.
• Bourbon-Raisin
• Microwave 1/2 cup raisins with 1 tablespoon bourbon, covered, 45 seconds; let cool. Pulse in a food processor with 1 stick softened butter, 1 tablespoon chopped chives and a pinch of salt.
• Sage Brown Butter
• Melt 1 stick butter over medium heat and cook until browned. Add 1/4 cup sage and fry 30 seconds; drain on paper towels, then chop. Let the brown butter cool; mash with 1 stick softened butter, the sage and a pinch of salt.

Steps:

• Separate the oil from the liquid in the turkey drippings by pouring the drippings into a clear 4-cup measuring cup. Allow the drippings to settle and separate into oil on top and juices on the bottom. Remove 1/4 cup oil using a kitchen syringe; transfer to a saucepan.
• Mix flour into the oil in the saucepan; cook and stir over medium-low heat until color changes to a light brown, about 5 minutes. Pour 1 cup juices from the measuring cup into flour mixture (roux); cook and stir, adding more drippings for a thinner gravy, until gravy is heated through and smooth, about 5 minutes. Mix chicken broth into gravy; cook and stir until heated through, adding more broth for a thinner gravy, about 5 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Arrange the garlic halves and sliced onions side by side in a single layer of foil with some foil to spare. Drizzle with the olive oil and season generously with salt. Wrap the foil over into a little package and place in the oven. Roast until completely tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 45 to 50 minutes. Carefully open the foil and let cool. Squeeze the garlic out of their skins, using a fork or a knife if necessary to pry them out. Discard the skins.
• In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, simmer the sherry until reduced to a couple of tablespoons, about 10 minutes.
• Once the turkey has been transferred from the roasting pan to a cutting board to let rest, put the roasting pan over 2 burners and heat over medium high. Add the chicken broth. Using a whisk, scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic and onions, mustard, vinegar, salt to taste, pepper and reduced sherry. Let the flavors infuse for a couple of minutes. Transfer most of the onions and garlic and some of the liquid from the roasting pan, about 1 1/2 cups, to a blender and blend until smooth. Return the puree to the roasting pan and bring to a boil, Cook, constantly whisking, until reduced to desired consistency. Adjust the seasonings.

Steps:

• Heat fat from turkey drippings in a saucepan over medium-low heat until liquefied, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk flour into turkey fat until golden, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk liquid from turkey drippings and turkey stock into fat-flour mixture; increase heat to medium and cook, whisking continuously, until gravy is smooth and desired consistency, 5 to 10 minutes. Season gravy with pepper.

Steps:

• Place turkey wings and onions in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 1-1/4 hours, turning once., Transfer wings and onions to a Dutch oven. Add 6 cups broth, carrots, celery and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. , Strain; discard wings and vegetables. (Can be made ahead to this point and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.) Skim fat from cooking liquid. Add enough remaining broth to measure 3-1/2 cups; set aside., In a large saucepan, whisk flour and remaining broth until smooth. Gradually stir in cooking liquid. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in butter and pepper.

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of stock to a boil. Remove from heat and keep warm.
• Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking, for 1 minute. The roux will become smooth and golden brown. Keep whisking!
• Within 2-3 minutes it will be the color of cafe au lait (golden brown) and smell slightly toasted. Gradually whisk in the warm stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat so the gravy is at a bare simmer.
• Add the bay leaves, mushrooms and Madeira and let simmer until grav is reduced by half. Remove the bay leaves and the mushrooms by a slotted spoon. Keep warm until turkey is finished.
• Transfer the turkey to a carving board and strain the drippings from the pan into a measuring cup. Skim the fat, add enough water to measure 1 cup.
• Place the roasting pan over two burners on medium high heat. Add the drippings mixture and deglaze the pan, stirring and scraping any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Strain into the gravy and simmer until slightly thickened, 10 minutes. Season to taste and serve.

Steps:

• Bring the turkey stock to a boil in a large saucepan. Stir in soup, and season with poultry seasoning, pepper, seasoned salt, and garlic powder. Reduce heat to low, and let simmer.
• Warm the milk in the microwave, and whisk in the flour with a fork until there are no lumps. Return the gravy to a boil, and gradually stir in the milk mixture. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute, or until thickened. Be careful not to let the bottom scorch.

Steps:

• Place roasting pan on stove across two burners. Bring pan liquids to a boil over high heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very brown, 5 to 15 minutes.
• Pour off (and discard) all but 1/4 cup fat from pan. Add wine; cook, stirring constantly, until syrupy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add flour, and cook, stirring, until browned, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add water, and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until gravy reaches desired consistency, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Discard large solids, and strain gravy through a fine-mesh sieve. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm or reheat just before serving.

Steps:

• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When butter begins to bubble, whisk in flour. Cook, whisking often, until flour is cooked through and has a nutty fragrance, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove roux from heat and let cool to room temperature. Use roux immediately or transfer to an airtight container and keep refrigerated, up to 1 month.
• Pour pan drippings into a fat separator to remove fat; set aside. Alternatively, pour pan drippings into a glass bowl and use a spoon to remove fat from top of drippings; set aside.
• Place reserved roasting pan over 2 burners on medium heat. Pour wine into pan; using a wooden spoon, stir, scraping up bottom bits from pan. Let cook until wine is reduced to 3 tablespoons, about 2 minutes; add reserved pan drippings. Add 4 cups hot turkey stock and bring to a boil. Whisk in 4 to 5 tablespoons roux mixture and return to a boil; let simmer until gravy is thick, adding more roux if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.