Ingredients
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large/about 300 g white or yellow onion, diced
2 large/150 g carrots, diced
2 medium/about 100 g celery sticks, diced
4 large sprigs of thyme
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground black pepper
Turkey gizzard and other parts
1 cup/240 ml pan drippings (see the recipe above)
6 cups/1.4 L low-sodium chicken stock or [6 cups/1.4 L water + 2 Tbsp Better Than Bouillon’s Reduced Sodium Roasted Chicken Base] (See The Cook’s Notes)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
¼ cup/35g all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and sauté until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the thyme, turmeric, and pepper, and sauté until fragrant, 30 to 45 seconds. Add the gizzard and turkey parts, stir in the pan drippings and stock, bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the liquid reduces to 5 cups/1.2 L, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve (for a clearer-looking gravy, strain through a sieve lined with cheesecloth) held over a large heatproof bowl or jug. Don’t press the solids left behind in the sieve, instead shake the sieve to drain and collect as much liquid as possible and discard the solids. Skim and discard the fat that accumulates at the surface.
- Wash and wipe the saucepan down. Heat the saucepan over medium heat and add the butter; cook until the butter melts completely. Stir in the flour and cook until the flour turns a light golden brown, 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Pour in 1 cup/240 ml of the strained broth and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the second cup of broth and whisk until smooth and free from lumps. Whisk in the remaining broth and cook the liquid over medium-high heat until thickened; the final volume of the gravy will be approximately 4 ½ cups/1 L. Taste and season with salt if needed. Serve warm.
Notes
- This is a question that comes up often, are the pan drippings too salty to make a gravy. The short answer is no. Almost all the brine is discarded and rubbed off before the turkey goes into the oven.
- See the roast turkey recipe (recipe above) to collect the pan drippings. You can also deglaze the pan with a dry white wine such as Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, or Sauvignon Blanc. It’s best to do that while the pan is still very hot. You can warm the wine up in a saucepan to deglaze the pan if the pan cools off quickly. The heat helps extract as much fat as well as any solids stuck to the pan.
- I really love the taste of Better Than Bouillon’s Reduced Sodium Roasted Chicken Base here; it’s much more flavorful and circumvents the need to add any other ingredients to build the savoriness of the stock.
