Easy Turkey Gravy
Photo Credit : Adam DeTour/styling by Catrine KeltyDespite popular belief, you can make gravy from the drippings of a dry-brined turkey. Whatever saltiness exists in the pan is easily diluted by the 4 cups of stock. And this gravy is so simple you can whip it up while your turkey is resting.
Pan drippings from a roasted turkey
4 cups chicken or turkey stock, plus more as needed
½ cup flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
Use a fat separator to isolate the dark pan juices and pour them into a small bowl (leaving the fat in the separator). If you don’t have a fat separator, pour all the drippings into a zip-top bag and let the fat rise to the top. Holding the bag over a measuring cup, carefully cut a small hole in a bottom corner to let the dark pan juices drain out (stop pouring just before the fat reaches the opening). To make the gravy, you’ll need 1 cup pan juices and 1/2 cup fat. If you don’t have enough pan juices, add chicken or turkey stock; if you don’t have enough fat, add butter.
Combine the pan juices and 4 cups stock in a saucepan over medium-low heat and cook until steaming.
Set a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the fat and flour to the pan, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is fragrant and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add 1 cup of the stock mixture and whisk until thick and smooth. Gradually ladle in the rest of the stock mixture, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so the gravy simmers gently and thickens, about 10 minutes. If the gravy is thicker than you like, add more hot broth, 1/3 cup at a time, until it reaches desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper, and serve hot with the sliced turkey.
Amy Traverso is the senior food editor at Yankee magazine and co-host of the public television series Weekends with Yankee, a coproduction with WGBH. Previously, she was food editor at Boston magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset magazine. Her work has also been published in The Boston Globe, Saveur, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on Hallmark Home & Family, The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Amy is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author and won an IACP Cookbook Award in the “American” category.
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