With thanksgiving coming up, many of us are
hoping to make the best gravy for our families to enjoy. I’ve gone ahead and
collected the highest rated gravy recipes from around the web:
“Best Gravy Ever” by Alton Brown of Food Network
Ingredients
1 Good Eats Roast Turkey, recipe follows
24 ounces reduced sodium chicken broth
8 ounces red wine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh herbs such as oregano,
thyme or rosemary
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Good Eats Roast Turkey:
1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, quartered
1/2 onion, quartered
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil
Remove the turkey from the roasting pan and
set aside to rest. Leave the drippings from the turkey in the pan and place the
roasting pan over medium heat. Add the broth and wine at the same time. Whisk
to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan until all of the bits have come
loose. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes in order to reduce the mixture slightly.
Transfer the liquid to a fat separator and let sit for 5 minutes to allow fat
to separate. Return 2/3 to 3/4 cup of the fat to the roasting pan and place
over medium-high heat. Discard any remaining fat. Add the flour and whisk to
combine. Cook, whisking continuously, until the mixture starts to thicken and
become smooth, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Once this happens, gradually add
the liquid back to the pan and whisk until smooth and you have reached your
desired consistency, approximately 5 to 6 minutes. Remember, your gravy should
be slightly thin in the pan as it will thicken once you serve it. Add the herbs
and whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
2 to 3 days before roasting:
Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator
or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown
sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot
over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a
boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and
refrigerate.
Early on the day or the night before you'd
like to eat:
Combine the brine, water and ice in the
5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side
down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed,
cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird
once half way through brining.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside
and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half
sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and
1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage.
Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.
Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven
at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part
of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the
thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should
require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest for at least 15 minutes before carving.
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2008
“Homemade Gravy” by Ina Garten of Food
Network
Ingredients
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Defatted turkey drippings plus chicken stock
to make 2 cups, heated
1 tablespoon Cognac or brandy
1 tablespoon white wine, optional
1 tablespoon heavy cream, optional
In a large (10 to 12-inch) saute pan, cook
the butter and onions over medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes, until the
onions are lightly browned. Don't rush this step; it makes all the difference
when the onions are well-cooked.
Sprinkle the flour into the pan, whisk in,
then add the salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the hot chicken
stock mixture and Cognac, and cook uncovered for 4 to 5 minutes until
thickened. Add the wine and cream, if desired. Season, to taste, and serve.
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/homemade-gravy-recipe.html?oc=linkback
“The Best (Do Ahead) Turkey Gravy” by Dee14 of Food.com
·
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
·
2 turkey wings (about 1 1/2 pounds,
separated at the joints)
·
1 large onion,
quartered
·
2 carrots,
each cut into 4 pieces
·
2 stalks celery,
each cut into 4 pieces
·
1 clove garlic,
sliced in half
- In deep 12 inch skillet,
heat oil over medium-high heat until hot.
Add turkey wings
and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until golden on all sides.
Add onions,
carrots, celery and garlic, and cook 8-10 minutes or until turkey wings and
vegetables are browned, stirring frequently.
Transfer turkey and
vegetables to a large bowl
Add wine to
skillet, and stir until browned bits are loosened.
Return turkey and
veggies to skillet.
Stir in broth,
thyme and 3 cups water, heat to boiling over high heat.
Reduce heat to
medium-low; simmer, uncovered, 45 minutes
Strain into an
8-cup measure or a large bowl; discard solids.
Let broth stand a
few seconds until fat separates from meat juice.
Spoon 1/4 cup fat
from broth into 2-quart saucepan; skim and discard any remaining fat.
Add flour to fat in
saucepan; cook, stirring over medium heat until flour turns golden brown.
Gradually whisk in
reserved broth and cook until gravy boils and thickens slightly, stirring
constantly.
Pour gravy into a
2-quart container or medium bowl, cover and refrigerate.
At serving time,
reheat gravy and add pan drippings (and/or cooked diced giblets) from the roast
turkey if you like.
Gravy can be
reheated in microwave prior to serving.
“Kittencal’s Easy Bo-Fail make Anytime Turkey Gravy” by Kittencalskitchen of
Food.com
·
1/2 cup butter (can use hard margarine)
·
1/2 teaspoon black
pepper (more is better, I use freshly ground
pepper)
·
4 cups pan drippings (or see options below
the recipe)
- Drain the pan drippings for
the roasted turkey through a fine strainer.
Let sit and then
remove any fat from the top of the drippings.
Add in chicken
broth or water to make 4 cups if necessary.
In a medium
saucepan, melt margarine or butter.
Add in lots of
black pepper.
Add in 1/2 cup
flour plus 3 tablespoons; constantly whisk for about 3 minutes over low heat.
Slowly add in the 4
cups turkey broth/drippings; whisk constantly over medium-low heat until bubbly
and thickened (about 3 minutes).
Use right away or
keep warm over lowest heat setting, whisk again before serving.
**OPTIONS** to make
this gravy using all chicken broth prepare as directed using 4 cups low sodium
chicken broth and 1 tablespoon chicken boullion powder ---- or you may add in
low sodium chicken broth omitting bouillon powder to pan drippings to make up 4
cups.
“Cream Turkey Gravy Recipe” by Phyllis Schmalz of
tasteofhome.com
|
2 tablespoons turkey drippings
|
|
1/8 teaspoon salt
|
|
1/8 teaspoon pepper
|
|
2 cups chicken broth
|
|
1/4 cup whole milk
|
|
|
|
|
In a small saucepan, mix cornstarch, drippings, salt
and pepper until smooth. Gradually whisk in broth and milk. Bring to a boil,
stirring constantly; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Yield: 2-1/3
cups.
“Rich Make Ahead
Turey Gravy” by
Benwa of Allrecipes.com
·
3 pounds turkey wings
·
2 small onions, quartered
·
2 stalks celery, each cut into 4 pieces
·
2 carrots, each cut into 4 pieces
·
2 cloves garlic, halved
·
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
·
4 cups chicken broth
·
4 cups water
·
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
·
2 tablespoons butter, or more if needed (optional)
·
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
·
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
(200 degrees C).
2. Place the turkey wings, onions,
celery, carrots, and garlic into a roasting pan, and roast until the turkey
wings turn a deep golden brown color, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Transfer the
cooked wings and vegetables to a large pot. Place the roasting pan over 2 stove
burners on medium-high heat, then pour the white wine into the roasting pan.
Scrape off and dissolve any browned flavor bits from the bottom of the pan into
the white wine; heat and scrape the roasting pan until the drippings and wine
have reduced to about 1/2 cup. Pour the wine mixture into the saucepan with the
turkey wings.
3. Pour chicken broth and water
into the pot, and season with thyme. Push the turkey wings down into the
liquid; bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45
minutes. Skim off any foam that collects on top. Pour the broth mixture through
a colander into a large bowl; pick meat from the wings, if desired, to add to
gravy, or discard the spent wings and vegetables. Allow the gravy base to stand
for several minutes for the fat to collect into a layer on top, and skim as
much fat as possible. Transfer the skimmed fat into a saucepan. There should be
at least 1/2 cup of turkey fat; add butter to make this amount if necessary.
4. Whisk the flour into the turkey
fat over medium heat until the flour mixture becomes smooth and golden brown.
Gradually whisk in the broth until the gravy comes to a boil and thickens.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow the gravy to cool, then refrigerate
or freeze. Reheat almost to boiling to serve.
