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Help! Need tips for good turkey gravy....

post #1 of 16
10/30/10 at 5:35pm
Thread Starter 
I'm an okay cook, but my gravy is hit and miss. Does anyone have any tips or recipes they'd like to share for turkey gravy? DH thinks Sil makes better gravy than me! He wants me to ask for her recipe! I will not! (Please don't flame DH , I love him anyway.)
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post #2 of 16
10/30/10 at 5:40pm
The secret to any gravy is the brown stuff at the bottom of the roaster. And the water from the potatoes that you cooked.

What I do is to remove as much of the fat as I can from the roasting pan. Add a bit of potato water to the bottom (little, not a lot), just enough to scrape up the brown bits. Then add some flour to the pan and stir it up and cook it over medium heat for a couple minutes in order to get rid of the raw flavour. Stir constantly or it will burn!

Then add the potato water, and a little instant vegetable stock. Some salt and pepper and then bring to a boil. I also like to put some garlic powder or onion powder into the gravy...just a bit (you don't want it to be evident that it's in there. I also sometimes like to put a wee bit of curry powder...again, just a little bit.
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post #3 of 16
10/30/10 at 5:47pm
Take all the giblets and slow simmer/boil them out in 3-6 cups of water according to size. In another pot you make your rue... Melt 3-5 tablespoons butter, add salt, pepper, whisk in 1/4-1/3 cup flour till well blended. Then slowly poor in your broth and juices strained from your turkey pan while whisking. Bring to a boil then simmer till thickens....Then enjoy!
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post #4 of 16
10/30/10 at 8:34pm
For the most awesome gravy, stuff any bird with an apple, carrot or two, celery, onion, and garlic. (Cut the apple and onion in fourths.) The vegetables and apple with make the most aromatic and tasty gravy you've ever had! Cook the stuffing in a separate dish; it's really worth it for this awesome gravy.

I do this when I roast chickens, too, it's SO GOOD.
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post #5 of 16
10/31/10 at 2:50am
Yes boiling the giblets up and using that water is good, then use all the fats and juices from the bottom of the tray and I always veg water, usually cabbage or leek and then I add some gravy granules to just thicken it. My chicken gravy is yuuuummmy if I do say so myself It would be the same for turkey, ood luck.xx
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post #6 of 16
10/31/10 at 10:33am
Deglaze your roasting pan with stock from giblets, or potato water or even plain water if you must, season with salt and pepper, then thicken with corn starch slurry - equal amounts of corn starch and COLD water. Corn starch slurry is less apt to make lumps than flour or even a roux and the gravy has a rather appealing sheen to it that has nothing to do with fat in it.
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post #7 of 16
10/31/10 at 10:38am
Thread Starter 
Thank you all for the advice! You have some wonderful recipes/ideas I haven't even thought of. My biggest problem has been browning the flour and then adding the stock...that's where the lumps and clumps always come in.
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post #8 of 16
10/31/10 at 10:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Natalie_ca View Post
The secret to any gravy is the brown stuff at the bottom of the roaster. And the water from the potatoes that you cooked.

What I do is to remove as much of the fat as I can from the roasting pan. Add a bit of potato water to the bottom (little, not a lot), just enough to scrape up the brown bits. Then add some flour to the pan and stir it up and cook it over medium heat for a couple minutes in order to get rid of the raw flavour. Stir constantly or it will burn!

Then add the potato water, and a little instant vegetable stock. Some salt and pepper and then bring to a boil. I also like to put some garlic powder or onion powder into the gravy...just a bit (you don't want it to be evident that it's in there. I also sometimes like to put a wee bit of curry powder...again, just a little bit.
When I was married I made the gravy exactly as you do but I add a little corn starch or flour mixed in water to thicken up the gravy if needed. I also used a little Kitchen Bouquet to make the gravy a bit darker. I made the gravy the same way for all my roasts. My German MIL taught me how.
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post #9 of 16
10/31/10 at 10:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nurseangel View Post
Thank you all for the advice! You have some wonderful recipes/ideas I haven't even thought of. My biggest problem has been browning the flour and then adding the stock...that's where the lumps and clumps always come in.
Using Corn Starch rather than flour will not give you as many lumps if any. Try it.
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post #10 of 16
10/31/10 at 10:44am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sk_pacer View Post
Deglaze your roasting pan with stock from giblets, or potato water or even plain water if you must, season with salt and pepper, then thicken with corn starch slurry - equal amounts of corn starch and COLD water. Corn starch slurry is less apt to make lumps than flour or even a roux and the gravy has a rather appealing sheen to it that has nothing to do with fat in it.
I have a really dumb question...you don't brown the corn starch in pan drippings as you would the flour?
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post #11 of 16
10/31/10 at 10:48am
This is what my dad and my husband do, as they are the gravy makers in the family.

1. Boil the giblets and neck over a low heat for several hours. When done, chop very, very finely.
2. Drain the juice from the turkey roaster and put into a large saucepan. (You can drain off some of the grease if you'd like and still have good flavor, too.)
3. Add the giblets and neck pieces to the saucepan and turn onto med heat.
4. In a glass or bowl, put some flour and milk and mix together until all the lumps are gone. Ideally, you want to use as much milk and flour as you have turkey drippings, 1-2 cups. You can also use half & half in place of the milk.
5. Add the milk/flour mixture to the dripping mixture and stir, stir, stir until it's the desired thickness. Add salt & pepper to taste.
6. Serve over mashed potatoes, turkey, and whatever else you want.
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post #12 of 16
10/31/10 at 10:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nurseangel View Post
I have a really dumb question...you don't brown the corn starch in pan drippings as you would the flour?
No, because if you try that, you will end up with a lump of corn starch. Has to be made into the slurry and added after the liquid is boiling.
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post #13 of 16
11/1/10 at 6:01pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SwampWitch View Post
For the most awesome gravy, stuff any bird with an apple, carrot or two, celery, onion, and garlic. (Cut the apple and onion in fourths.) The vegetables and apple with make the most aromatic and tasty gravy you've ever had! Cook the stuffing in a separate dish; it's really worth it for this awesome gravy.

I do this when I roast chickens, too, it's SO GOOD.
This sounds delicious. I usually use a cut grapefruit as my aromatic, but I think I'll give this a try.

Quote:
Originally Posted by stephanietx View Post
This is what my dad and my husband do, as they are the gravy makers in the family.

1. Boil the giblets and neck over a low heat for several hours. When done, chop very, very finely.
2. Drain the juice from the turkey roaster and put into a large saucepan. (You can drain off some of the grease if you'd like and still have good flavor, too.)
3. Add the giblets and neck pieces to the saucepan and turn onto med heat.
4. In a glass or bowl, put some flour and milk and mix together until all the lumps are gone. Ideally, you want to use as much milk and flour as you have turkey drippings, 1-2 cups. You can also use half & half in place of the milk.
5. Add the milk/flour mixture to the dripping mixture and stir, stir, stir until it's the desired thickness. Add salt & pepper to taste.
6. Serve over mashed potatoes, turkey, and whatever else you want.
It sounds wonderful, but I don't know if I can do it. I'm good up until step 4 and that's where things will start to go wrong.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sk_pacer View Post
No, because if you try that, you will end up with a lump of corn starch. Has to be made into the slurry and added after the liquid is boiling.
Yes, usually I'm dealing with a lump of flour, so I know exactly what you're talking about.

Thanks again to everyone for the help. You know, I get nervous even thinking about gravy....
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post #14 of 16
11/1/10 at 7:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stephanietx View Post

4. In a glass or bowl, put some flour and milk and mix together until all the lumps are gone. Ideally, you want to use as much milk and flour as you have turkey drippings, 1-2 cups. You can also use half & half in place of the milk.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nurseangel View Post
It sounds wonderful, but I don't know if I can do it. I'm good up until step 4 and that's where things will start to go wrong.
I've found it works well to drain almost all of the drippings and grease, then add the flour directly to the browned bits in the roaster (making a roux). I use a slotted spatula to work the flour into the browned bits and cook it over a low heat on top of the stove. When it starts foaming, add the broth slowly. Add 1/2 to 1 cup broth and work the roux into the liquid with the slotted spatula. Add another cup of broth and keep mixing. It will get thick each time before you add more broth, and it won't lump since you are slowly mixing it.

If I use cornstarch, I mix cold broth or water with the cornstarch, it will not lump in the liquid the way flour does. After draining the broth and grease, pour the liquid and dissolved cornstarch directly into the roasting pan on top of the stove, and stir while it's heating. You have to bring it to a full boil for a minute or two or the cornstarch won't thicken the gravy.

A very handy tool to have is a fat separator; it has a spout on the bottom of the cup and you can pour out the hot broth, the grease stays on top, it's fast and works great - no need to chill the broth to get the grease off.
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post #15 of 16
11/1/10 at 8:12pm
Just pour your drippings into a measuring cup (4-cup if you have one). If you have 3 C of drippings, add 3C milk and 3C flour to the cup or bowl and mix well, until all the lumps are gone. We use one of those hand-held mixers that you use to make slushies and smoothies. Then you pour the milk/flour mixture into the warm drippings and simmer, stirring continually until the desired thickness.
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post #16 of 16
11/2/10 at 8:44am
On a side note; if you don't want to eat flour or cornstarch for health reasons (since they are highly refined and not good for us), you can pulverize oats in the blender and add the oat powder to the drippings. Stir until it thickens. It can be a little tricky since you want enough oats to thicken but not too much so it's oatmeal-consistancy. Also, you have to cook it for a bit for the oats to completely dissolve.

I use oats as thickeners all the time in stews and gravies, but for holiday dinners (or for guests and/or in-laws) I made the gravies with white flour or corn starch since they are silky and smoother and more impressive.
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