Every cook needs to learn how to make chicken or turkey from scratch. It's easy and a simple matter of using the right combination of ingredients and seasoning. I wrote this recipe out years ago and recently found it in an envelope full of my Mom's recipes.
Gravy is made with juices or dripping left in the pan when the meat or poultry has been cooked. You need to increase the amount of liquid in the pan and can use a chicken stock, or a combination of stock and wine or water. When using wine, use red wine for beef and white wine for poultry or pork.
Table of Contents
How to make gravy from turkey drippings.
Heat up 3-4 tablespoons of turkey dripping and stir in 3-4 tablespoons of flour. Brown the flour in the pan and then add 3 cups of chicken broth. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook the gravy until it thickens. Taste as you go and adjust seasoning as needed.
You can also make your gravy right in a roasting pan you used for the turkey.
Pan Gravy from scratch
For Gravy from skillet cooked foods; remove the cooked food to a hot platter and add liquid to the skillet to reach about ¼ depth. Shake in the flour and season with salt and pepper to taste.
When cooking steak in the skillet or broiler, you can make a quick homemade steak sauce by simmering a crushed clove of garlic in the pan drippings for about 5 minutes and season to taste or sprinkle in a few shakes of Worcestershire Sauce.
Cream-based Gravy from scratch
When making a Cream-Based Gravy, you can use milk, cream, or sour cream brought to room temperature.
When cooking a Roast remove the meat or poultry from the roasting pan and skim the fat off the liquid. If you’re thickening the gravy, you should add up to ½ cup or so of the liquids mentioned above. Reserve some of the liquid to be used during the thickening process. Stir and scrape the bits and pieces from the pan; this is called “deglazing.” Bring the liquid to a boil, season to taste and serve immediately.
Thickening Gravy
Thickening gravy is easily done with about a tablespoon of flour and 1 tablespoon of skimmed fat for each cup of liquid. For ease, I keep an empty spice jar with a shaker top filled with flour and shake until I have the desired consistency.
Top Tips
- You don't need to have pan dripping, you use stock or broth in its place. I sometimes use "Better than Bouillon" when I'm making a meatless meal but need that gravy on potatoes!
- Make ahead: Cool the gravy then store it in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3 days. To serve, reheat the gravy in a skillet over low heat.
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📖 Recipe
Turkey Giblet Gravy
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons turkey pan juices
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups chicken broth
- Turkey giblets minced
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a heavy skillet, heat the turkey pan juices and add the flour slowly, stirring constantly until a smooth paste. When the flour has browned the roux is ready, about 3 minutes.
- Add n the broth and giblets. Stir constantly to avoid lumps.
- Bring the gravy to a slow simmer. Continue simmering until the gravy begins to thickens, about 3-4 minutes.
- At this point, you should season with salt and pepper and add in any
additional herbs or spices (optional) and continue simmering for an additional minute. - Optional step: For an extra creamy gravy remove from the heat and whisk in half and half or cream.
- Taste test and add salt and pepper to taste.
Louise
I really love this recipe, it's just like my Mo made when I was growing up.