MAKE-AHEAD TURKEY GRAVY

Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy image

This recipe allows you to have your gravy ready ahead of time so you don't have to be running around at the last minute trying to make gravy. Check and see if your grocery store regularly carries turkey wings - if they don't you may have to ask for them ahead of time. You don't have to peel the onion, carrots, or head of garlic - the peels have extra flavor, and you'll be straining the stock so they will be removed in the end anyway. If I have already bought my turkey when I am making this gravy, I roast the neck with the wings, and add it and the heart, liver and gizzard to the broth. When you strain the broth at the end, save the heart and the gizzard, set aside to cool, and then finely chop them and add to the gravy at the end. I generally don't add the gizzard to the giblet gravy, because I don't like the texture, but I do add it to the stock pot when I am making the stock.

Provided by xtine

Categories < 4 Hours

Time 3h

Yield 4 cups

Number Of Ingredients 18

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Ingredients

2 tablespoons canola oil
2 lbs turkey wings
1 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, halved
2 carrots, cut in 2 inch pieces
2 celery ribs, cut in 2 inch pieces plus a handful of the celery leaves
1 head garlic, cut in half
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh sage
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
10 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
8 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons butter, if needed
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
Kitchen Bouquet, if desired

Steps:

Preheat oven to 375.
Place wings in a metal roasting pan and brush with the canola oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast wings for 1 hour, turning halfway through. the wings should be golden-brown at the end of the roasting. If they are not, I run them under the broiler for a few minutes until they are browned to my liking.
While the wings are roasting, Place 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large stock pot, and add the onion, carrots, celery and leaves, garlic, thyme, sage, rosemary, peppercorns and bay leaves. Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes and then keep over low heat until you are ready to add the wings.
When the wings are golden brown, add them to the stock pot. Pour off the drippings from the roasting pan into a degreasing pitcher, and separate the drippings from the grease. Add the drippings to the stock pot, and save the grease.
Pour the cup of white wine into the roasting pan and place it over high heat on a burner. When the wine is simmering, use a plastic spatula to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes over medium heat. Pour the wine and any bits into the stock pot.
Add the 6 cups of low sodium chicken broth to the stock pot, and then add water to cover all the vegetables and wings by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and stir well. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 2 hours.
Strain the stock (remember to save the giblets if you put them in the stock and you want to make giblet gravy - don't throw them away!) and discard all the solids. Measure how much stock you have - it will probably be around 9 cups, depending on how much water you put in the stock.
Measure out enough stock for the amount of gravy you want to make, i.e., if you want to make 2 cups of gravy, you measure out 2 cups of stock. you can freeze any extra stock, so you have it for future gravy-making needs.
For each cup of gravy you want to make, measure 2 tablespoons of grease from the turkey drippings and 2 tablespoons of flour into a large pot. I usually make 4 cups, so I measure 8 tablespoons of grease (if you don't have enough grease add butter to make up the difference) and 8 tablespoons of flour. Cook this roux over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring well with a whisk while you are cooking - don't let it burn.
Slowly add the stock to the roux, stirring well with a whisk the entire time - this is when lumps form, so you need to add the stock slowly and whisk well the entire time to prevent lumps from forming.
Simmer the gravy over medium heat until it is thickened and bubbly, usually about 10 minutes.
Add white vinegar (I add 1/2 teaspoon to 4 cups of gravy) and season to taste with salt and pepper, and refrigerate until you are ready to use (or you could freeze it).
If you want the gravy to be a darker brown color, add Kitchen Bouquet until the gravy is the color you want it to be.
When you are ready to use the gravy, reheat it on the stove or in the microwave.