Syd's Turkey Gravy

Good turkey gravy doesn’t come from a packet. It comes from the roasting pan. This recipe uses every drop of flavor the bird produces: pan drippings, fond scraped from the bottom, and a broth made by simmering the giblets while the turkey roasts.

Start the giblets in a pot of salted water at the same time the turkey goes in the oven. By the time the bird is done, you’ll have a rich, meaty broth ready to go. That broth is your backup liquid for building 2 cups of gravy base when the drippings alone aren’t enough.

The defatting step is key. Pour the pan juices into a container and skim the fat off the top. Fat in the gravy makes it greasy instead of silky. Once defatted, the drippings go back in the roasting pan where you whisk in flour and scrape up all those caramelized bits stuck to the bottom. That’s the fond, and it’s where most of the gravy’s depth comes from.

Chop the cooked giblets fine and stir them into the finished gravy for extra richness and texture.

Pro Tips

• Whisk constantly when adding flour to avoid lumps. If lumps happen anyway, strain the gravy through a fine mesh sieve.
• Use the fat separator method: pour drippings into a measuring cup and let the fat rise to the top for easy skimming.
• If the gravy gets too thick, thin it with more giblet broth, not water. Water dilutes flavor.
• Make the giblet broth with the neck too. It adds significant body and gelatin to the broth.

Variations

• Add a splash of white wine to the pan before the flour for a more complex, slightly acidic gravy.
• Skip the giblets in the finished gravy if texture bothers you. The giblet broth alone adds plenty of flavor.
• Stir in fresh chopped sage or thyme at the end for an herby finish.