Deliciously Easy Homemade Turkey Gravy
Making your own gravy sounds intimidating. All of us have heard the horror stories about lumpy gravy, flavorless gravy, and even bland tasting gravy due to too much flour. Is there really a trick to getting a nice smooth gravy that tastes great and has no lumps? I think there is!
I really think the trick is starting slow with low heat and getting your butter and flour combined without lumps before adding in any of your broth. Next, store bought chicken stock has little flavor and doesn’t really compliment your turkey as well as it could.
I ALWAYS use the turkey drippings from the roasting pan. The drippings always include a little bit of fat, a little bit of caramelized skin and meat, and the flavor of the seasonings you used for the turkey. Yum! Of course it’s going to go well with your turkey because it has a similar flavor which, when poured over all of your other Thanksgiving or Christmas side items, really ties everything together seamlessly.
For my turkey, I always use a nice honey glaze. I like keeping my turkey simple and sweet. Honey has a sweet but full-bodied flavor that seals the moisture into the turkey, and leaves you will that bold but sweet flavor in every bite.
It makes not only the turkey taste amazing, but also the gravy, and everything else on your plate. The sweet honey taste also goes amazingly well with my Clean Eating Homemade Cornbread Dressing. However if you don't have a turkey. or you're not the one making it, I highly suggest using a homemade chicken, beef, or vegetable broth. This way you get tons of yummy flavor, without all of the chemicals and preservatives. It's super easy to make too!
Sp many homemade Thanksgiving turkeys are dry and tasteless. If this is what you're expecting for Thanksgiving, bring plenty of your own gravy to compliment the meal and soothe everyone's palates. I promise everyone will thank you!
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons real butter, (grass-fed)
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- Up to 4 cups turkey drippings
- At least 2-4 cups broth, just in case
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded turkey meat, (optional)
Instructions
- Before you do anything else, I’m assuming you have cooked your turkey and taken it out of the oven, you will want to take a turkey baster and a large measuring cup, and squeeze out as much of the turkey drippings as possible.
- You want as close to four cups as possible. Don’t worry about picking up fat, skin, caramelized pieces, meat, etc. They will only make your gravy that much better.
- On the side, you will want to have enough broth to supplement your turkey drippings. For instance, if you were only able to pull out two cups, you'll want about two more cups of broth.
- TIP: If you do not have any turkey drippings, you can always use chicken, beef or vegetable broth. I always keep plenty on hand to use all year round.
- Set your stove to low heat and melt your butter in a large saucepan.
- Once your butter has melted down, add your flour. With a whisk, mix it quickly to get rid of all bumps and lumps. You will not want to move further in the process until all of the lumps are out of your gravy base.
- Once you’ve got a smooth base, in a minute or two, start adding in your turkey drippings a little at a time and whisking it in after each portion you put in. If you needed to use it, now’s the time to add in your broth and whisk it in well.
- With all of your basic ingredients in, turn up the heat to medium until your gravy reaches boiling, stirring all the while.
- Immediately lower the temperature to low and simmer for about 5 to 10 more minutes, until it has thickened up for you.
- Taste it. Obviously you will want to make sure you’re putting out a good product, and this allows you to see if anything needs to be added.
- TIP: You most likely will not want to add salt, because the turkey drippings should have added enough for you. But you may decide to add more turkey drippings, or broth.
- Right before you are ready to serve your gravy, tear off about a 1/2 cup of turkey and shred it well.
- Add your shredded turkey into your gravy, if you desire, and mix it well. Yummy!!
Nutritional Information
Nutrition Facts | |
---|---|
Serving size: 1/2 cup of gravy | |
Calories | 50 |
Calories from Fat | 36 |
% Daily Value * | |
Fat 4 g | 6% |
Saturated fat 3 g | 15% |
Unsaturated fat 0 g | |
Carbohydrates 3 g | 1% |
Sugar 1 g | |
Fiber 0 g | |
Protein 1 g | 2% |
Cholesterol 10 mg | 3% |
Sodium 40 mg | 2% |
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. |
Turkey dinner can be amazing with a well-cooked turkey, a nice Homemade Cornbread Dressing, a green bean casserole, Homemade Cranberry Sauce, and whatever else you typically make for your holiday meal.
We have had some great dinners over the holidays in the homes of friends and other family members where they didn’t serve gravy. For some reason, all throughout the dinner, we kept finding, even though the food was delicious, that our tongues were sticking to the roofs of our mouths.
All of the breads and meats with nothing creamy to wash it down was just too much. I think at one point my husband got up and made some gravy, and everyone at the table cheered. Gravy may not seem that important. It even might be forgotten as you’re making all of your other scrumptious holiday dishes. But in the end, even a poorly put together turkey gravy is better than no gravy at all.
Surprise all of your friends and family members this year with some amazing, and easy to make, turkey gravy. Enjoy!
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What is "clean eating"?
Clean Eating simply means that I don't use any processed foods or refined ingredients in my recipes. I avoid pre-packaged mixes and ingredients, and instead use all-natural wholesome ingredients, and food items that I have either grown, canned, or preserved myself here at home. You can rest assured that all of my clean eating recipes are loaded with nutritious goodness. There's no need for any guilt when eating anything or feeding it to your family.
© 2013 Victoria Van Ness