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plate of turkey covered in gravy with stuffing and cranberry sauce

The Best Turkey Gravy

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  • Author: Megan
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour + 5 minutes
  • Yield: 3 cups 1x
  • Category: Condiments
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American

Description

Smooth and flavorful, this gravy beats anything that comes from a jar.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 TB olive oil
  • removed neck, giblets and backbone (optional) from your turkey
  • 1/2 large sweet onion, diced
  • 1 cup chopped carrots (I used baby carrots that I had on hand. You may also use 1 large carrot)
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • about 1/3 bunch of parsley, minced
  • 12 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 78 fresh sage leaves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 cups turkey or chicken stock
  • 3 TB unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp fresh black pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a 3 quart saucepan over medium high heat until shimmering. Chop the neck and backbone (if using) into pieces and add to the saucepan with the giblets. Brown on both sides for 5 minutes.
  2. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally until the veggies are slightly softened, another 5 minutes.
  3. Add the parsley, thyme sprigs, sage leaves, bay leaf and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and allow to cook down for 45 minutes. 
  4. After 45 minutes, remove the turkey pieces from the saucepan and strain the broth from the veggies and herbs. Reserve the broth in a heatproof bowl, and return the empty saucepan to medium heat.
  5. Melt the butter in the saucepan and add the flour. Whisk the mixture constantly over medium heat and cook for 3 minutes. The roux should thin out as you cook it, be sure to continue scraping the edges of the bottom of the pot as you whisk.
  6. After 3 minutes, stream in the reserved broth/liquid, whisking constantly to thicken the gravy. It shouldn’t take longer than a minute to thicken.
  7. Remove gravy from the heat and season with 1 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of fresh black pepper. Taste and season additionally, if desired.
  8. Gravy will thicken up considerably when refrigerated. Heat leftovers in the microwave for 30 seconds, and stir to loosen it up again. Leftovers should be used within a week.

Equipment


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/4 cup
  • Calories: 130
  • Sugar: 1.8 g
  • Sodium: 182.1 mg
  • Fat: 8.3 g
  • Saturated Fat: 2.9 g
  • Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 5.6 g
  • Fiber: 0.4 g
  • Protein: 8.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 52.8 mg