Mastering turkey gravy

by Nicole Weston, Posted Nov 16th 2006 @ 1:05PM

Cook's Illustrated is definitely one of the best resources for any food-related technical questions. They test everything - from ingredients to recipes - exhaustively, so you are basically guaranteed a good result just by following their meticulous instructions. Most of the sections on their website require a subscription, so unless you get the magazine through the mail or register with them, your access to their vast resources will be limited to the few things that they keep in the free section of their site. Fortunately, a great article called Mastering Turkey Gravy is available just in time for Thanksgiving. They talk about equipment, as well as the major components of the dish, before getting down to the recipe and the technique. Their recipe calls for a quick turkey stock, a roux to thicken the sauce and the addition of the pan drippings to get the maximum flavor. Take a look at the whole article before the season ends ad it goes back behind the pay wall.

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Filed Under: Food Quest, Ingredients, How To
Tags: article, best, comfort food, cooking, cooks illustrated, dinner, food, Food Quest, gravy, gravy how-to, how to, magazine, meat, meat food, perfect gravy, poultry, thanksgiving, turkey, turkey gravy, TurkeyGravy

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-16-2006 @9:56PM Cary said... I have followed Cooks Illustrated's basic method for awhile, with two changes: Make the stock in a crockpot over night (easy); and I toast my flour to deep golden brown and fragrant in the skillet (toast extra and set aside to adjust thickness later) and add butter as a beurre manie (equal parts tasted floar and butter paste made off heat) to avoid lumps than proceed with stock and drippings. Wonderful roasted flavor, no lumps (or easily corrected) even if drippings are minimal or non-existant. Stir flour almost constantly while toasting, but can be done a little while ahead.
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11-16-2006 @3:46PM dulci said... this is very similar to the recipe i use, with a few exceptions, most notably that i leave in my celery and onions, and process my gravy with a handheld blender... it makes for the most naturally flavorful and hearty gravy ever, while still keeping it very smooth. it also means less flour for thickening.
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