Fresh Fennel Pan Gravy Recipes

SKILLET-BRAISED FENNEL

Steps:

• Trim the tops of the fennel bulbs; cut bulbs in half lengthwise.
• Melt butter in a large iron skillet over medium heat. Add sugar and stir until melted. Add garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add fennel, cut side down, and cook until well browned, about 5 to 10 minutes. Be careful not to let the fennel burn.
• Turn over bulbs and add orange juice, water, and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cover pan and cook until fennel is soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 to 30 minutes. If the pan becomes dry during cooking, add a little more water. If any liquid is left at the end of the cooking time, continue to cook, uncovered, at medium heat until the liquid evaporates. Garnish with parsley leaves and serve immediately.

PAN-FRIED FENNEL

Steps:

• Chop fennel greens and set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Lay some fennel slices in a single layer in the pan; cook until nicely browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and lemon pepper. Remove from pan. Add another tablespoon oil and layer in the next batch of fennel slices and cook the same way. Repeat with remaining oil and fennel. Serve sprinkled with fennel greens.

GUSSIED UP GRAVY

Steps:

• Add the caramelized mirepoix, sage and thyme to a saute pan, mix together and heat over medium until hot. Add the gravy, turkey pan juices, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer--don't boil it--and simmer until reduced slightly, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a dish, let cool and then cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
• When ready to serve, bring the gravy back to a simmer. Stir in the chopped eggs and pour into a pitcher.
• Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• In a saute pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon each of the butter and oil. When the butter is melted, add the celery, carrots, onion and fennel (mirepoix) and saute until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and stir through. Scoop out 2 cups of the caramelized mirepoix and reserve for the gravy. Put the remaining caramelized mirepoix in a large bowl (you should have about 4 cups).
• Heat a second saute pan over medium heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon each butter and oil and heat until the butter is melted. Add the celery root, parsnips and turnips and saute until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the mirepoix and add the stuffing mix. Add the chicken broth, parsley, salt and pepper and toss together. Transfer the stuffing mixture to the prepared baking dish.
• If baking right away, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cover with foil and bake until the stuffing is heated through, about 1 hour.
• If making ahead of time, cover the unbaked stuffing with foil and refrigerate overnight. The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bring the stuffing to room temperature, then drizzle with 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Bake, covered with foil, until heated through, about 1 hour.

FENNEL AND CITRUS ROASTED TURKEY WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• For the turkey: Pat the turkey dry and let it stand at room temperature at least 1 hour and up to 2.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grate the zest from the lemons and orange, then cut the citrus fruit in half and reserve. Chop enough fennel fronds to measure 1 tablespoon. Put the butter in a bowl and add the citrus zest, chopped fennel fronds, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and mix to combine thoroughly.
• Slide your hands between the breast and skin of the turkey to carefully loosen the skin. Use your fingers to loosen the skin over the drumsticks and thighs as well. Rub all but about 1 or 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture all over the turkey under the skin. Rub the remaining butter mixture over the surface of the turkey. Season the turkey all over with salt and pepper.
• Squeeze the juice from 1 of the reserved orange halves and 2 of the lemon halves into the bottom of a large roasting pan and then insert all of the citrus halves (including the juiced ones), the fennel quarters and half of the thyme into the cavity of the turkey. Tie the turkey legs together with twine. Add the stock and remaining thyme to the bottom of the pan with the citrus juices. Position a roasting rack in the roasting pan and put the turkey on the rack.
• Roast, rotating the pan halfway through, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 160 degrees F, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. (If the turkey and wing tips are browning too quickly, lightly cover with foil and remove in the final 30 minutes of cooking.) Let the turkey rest for 30 minutes before carving.
• Using a ladle, carefully remove the pan juices from the bottom of the pan and pour into a fat-separating liquid measuring cup for the gravy. Allow to sit for 5 minutes so the fat rises to the top.
• For the gravy: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the thyme and shallots and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Gradually add the flour and cook, whisking, until golden and nutty smelling, about 3 minutes. Add the Marsala wine and continue to whisk. Slowly pour in the stock and separated pan juices while mixing, making sure to incorporate the flour mixture as you go. Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar if needed to balance any bitterness from the citrus. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm until ready to eat, then strain into a gravy boat.
• Carve the turkey and place on a large serving platter. Garnish with fennel fronds. Serve with hot gravy.

ROAST TURKEY WITH SAUSAGE FENNEL STUFFING AND MADEIRA GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Rinse turkey and pat dry inside and out. Season turkey inside and out with salt and pepper and pack neck cavity loosely with some stuffing. Fold neck skin under body and fasten with a skewer. Fill body cavity loosely with some remaining stuffing and truss turkey. Transfer remaining stuffing to a buttered 1 1/2- to 2-quart shallow baking dish and reserve, covered and chilled.
• Spread turkey with butter and on a rack in a roasting pan roast in oven until a meat thermometer inserted in fleshy part of a thigh registers 180°F. and juices run clear when thigh is pierced, 3 1/4 to 4 hours.
• During last 1 1/2 hours of roasting, drizzle reserved stuffing with stock or broth and bake, covered, 1 hour. Transfer turkey to a heated platter, reserving juices in roasting pan, and discard string. Keep turkey warm, covered loosely with foil.
• Make gravy:
• Skim fat from pan juices, reserving 1/3 cup fat, and deglaze pan with Madeira over moderately high heat, scraping up brown bits. Bring Madeira to a boil and remove pan from heat.
• In a saucepan whisk together reserved fat and flour and cook roux over moderately low heat, whisking, 3 minutes. Add Madeira mixture and stock or broth in a stream, whisking, and simmer, whisking occasionally, 5 minutes. Season gravy with salt and pepper and transfer to a heated gravy boat.
• Garnish turkey with fennel, onions, and thyme.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle bottom of shallow roasting pan or baking sheet with about half the olive oil and cover it with a layer of the fennel. Overlap pieces if necessary but use whole pan. Drizzle remaining oil over fennel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut up chicken if necessary and sprinkle the pieces with salt and pepper.
• Top fennel with the chicken parts, skin side up. Ideally, you'll have a layer of fennel pretty much covered by a layer of chicken, but it's fine if some of the fennel roasts uncovered. Spoon some of the oil from bottom of pan over chicken. If there is not enough, drizzle additional olive oil over the chicken. Roast about 15 minutes, then baste chicken with pan drippings and rotate the pan. If necessary, adjust oven temperature so chicken browns but does not burn.
• The chicken will be done in about 30 minutes. Serve each piece with some fennel and a little of the pan juices spooned over, garnished with parsley and a lemon wedge.

BUTTERFLIED TURKEY WITH FENNEL, SAUSAGE, AND RICOTTA STUFFING

Steps:

• For stuffing:
• Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage. Sauté until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to bowl. Add diced fennel, leeks, and shallots to skillet. Sauté 8 minutes. Add garlic and wine. Boil 3 minutes, scraping up browned bits. Scrape into bowl with sausage. Cool. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.
• Mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and ricotta into stuffing. Whisk eggs, sage, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and fennel fronds in bowl. Stir into stuffing.
• For turkey:
• Mix fennel seeds, rosemary, salt, and pepper, then oil in small bowl. Rinse turkey; pat dry. Place turkey, skin side down, on work surface. Spread half of fennel oil over flesh side. Turn turkey over onto large rimmed baking sheet. Tuck wing tips under.
• Starting at neck end, run fingers gently under skin of breast, thigh, and legs. Spread stuffing under skin. Massage to even out thickness of stuffing. Spread fennel oil over turkey skin.
• To roast turkey:
• Set rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 350°F. Pour 1 cup stock or broth onto baking sheet under turkey.
• Roast turkey until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 160°F to 165°F, adding stock by cupfuls if pan is dry, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Transfer turkey to platter; let rest 30 to 45 minutes. Reserve baking sheet with juices. While turkey rests, prepare Fennel Pan Gravy . Serve turkey with gravy.
• To grill turkey:
• Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Remove top grill rack. If using charcoal, light briquettes in chimney. When covered with white ash, push to opposite sides of bottom rack. Place disposable aluminum pan in center of rack (you will need to light additional briquettes, checking every 30 minutes during grilling time). Replace top rack. If using 3-burner gas grill, light burners on left and right sides, leaving center burner off. If using 2-burner gas grill, light burner on 1 side; place disposable pan over unlit side.
• Place turkey, skin side up, on rack over pan; cover. Insert instant-read thermometer into hole in hood. Maintain temperature at 350°F on charcoal grill by opening and closing vents or adjusting temperature on gas grill with controls. Grill until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 160°F to 165°F, tenting with foil if browning too quickly, 13/4 to 2 hours. Transfer turkey to platter; let rest 30 to 45 minutes (internal temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees).
• Serve grilled turkey with Mixed- Mushroom and Tarragon Gravy.