In my family we take our Thanksgiving gravy very serious. My father, the primary holiday chef in my parents' marriage, learned the secrets of gravy-making from his mother and has passed them on to me (my sister doesn't have a whole lot of interest in gravy prep). For years now, I known how to create at least half a gallon of turkey gravy (the picture to the right is how much gravy we had leftover after a 10-person meal last Thanksgiving). This skill ensures that there will always be more than enough gravy to extend past the life of the turkey and that the dog will be given gravy on top of her dinner for at least a week after holiday meal is over. And now I'd like to share some of my gravy making prowess with you. Last year Scott and I made an episode of Fork You devoted to the flour toasting technique that is a vital component of the gravy prep. Two years ago, I wrote a lengthy post describing in detail how to make this gravy. And for those of you who don't want to watch or read, here are my basic tips. Toast two cups of flour in a pan on your stove top until it turns a nutty brown (gives the gravy good flavor and color). Make a pot of stock with the turkey offal and neck. If you are making a vat of gravy to take to someone else's dinner (something I have done) you can make stock with a package of turkey wings from the store.
May is National BBQ Month and National Hamburger Month
Cupcakes, not for dessert (unless beef is your idea of a treat)
Because eating French Fries in the car is so tough
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-13-2007 @ 11:06AM
rainey Smith said...
Consider something "new".
Last year at this time Shirley O. Corriher of Cookwise fame described her mother's method of thickening gravy when Shirley was a child. She said her mom reserved a handful of her stuffing mixture for the gravy.
We tried it. We got the best gravy ever. Altho, whirl as I might, it never got silky smooth, the enhanced flavor and nicely thickened result was so superior I don't think I'll ever go back to flour-thickened traditional gravy.
The deal is just put in a handful of what you use — bread, aromatics, giblets, nuts, whatever — all of it — in the drippings. Stir it together with the drippings and continue as you normally would. Then whirl it as smooth as you can. It won't separate. It will be exceptional.
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11-13-2007 @ 2:04PM
jerzeetomato said...
I take my flour and mash it into some butter a few tablespoons. This gives the gravy shine and flavor.
I use about 3 tablespoons and reduce to thicken.
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12-25-2007 @ 3:35PM
Jason said...
That's odd...I just did the toasty-flour routine, and after just 12 minutes I had a nice nutty brown flour. The article certainly sounds like I should be using pretty high heat, so I was assuming I'd be into this for the full hour as it was.
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