Make Ahead Delicious Turkey Gravy Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S MAKE-AHEAD TURKEY GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Combine onion, carrots, celery, and vegetable oil in a large roasting pan and toss to coat. Place turkey wings on top of vegetables
• Place roasting pan in the preheated oven and cook until the turkey wings are browned and vegetables are caramelized and softened, 45 to 60 minutes.
• Transfer turkey wings and vegetables to a large stockpot. Place the roasting pan over a stovetop burner on medium heat. Pour 2 tablespoons cold water into the pan and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Transfer mixture to the stockpot and add 10 cups cold water, thyme, and garlic.
• Bring turkey wing mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until meat falls off the bone, about 3 hours. Skim off turkey fat throughout the process and set aside 2 tablespoons.
• Strain turkey stock and reserve 6 cups of stock; discard all the solids.
• Heat butter and 2 tablespoons reserved turkey fat in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour and cook, whisking continuously, until it begins to smell like cooked pie crust, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly pour in turkey stock, whisking continuously. Increase heat to high and simmer until thick and warmed through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.

MAKE-AHEAD TURKEY GRAVY

Steps:

• Place turkey wings and onions in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 1-1/4 hours, turning once., Transfer wings and onions to a Dutch oven. Add 6 cups broth, carrots, celery and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. , Strain; discard wings and vegetables. (Can be made ahead to this point and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.) Skim fat from cooking liquid. Add enough remaining broth to measure 3-1/2 cups; set aside., In a large saucepan, whisk flour and remaining broth until smooth. Gradually stir in cooking liquid. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in butter and pepper.

MAKE-AHEAD TURKEY GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, combine 2 teaspoons salt, the garlic powder, onion powder, sage and pepper. Use to generously season the turkey wings on all sides and use any extra to season the carrots, celery and onion.
• Place the turkey wings and vegetables in a Dutch oven and bake, uncovered, 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Transfer the Dutch oven to the stovetop on medium-high heat. Add the stock and bay leaves. Use a wooden spoon to break up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a low boil, reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove the turkey wings and use a mesh strainer to separate the vegetables from the broth. Use a spoon to press out any liquid from the vegetables. Use a gravy fat separator (optional, but I like to do this step because I find the extra fat can cause the gravy to separate) or skim off the excess fat.
• In the same Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook until it starts to turn golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in the reserved broth, sherry and Worcestershire. Simmer until it thickens, 8 to 10 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. If you have any lumps, pass through a fine mesh sieve. Let cool completely and refrigerate or freeze until use.
• Reheating Instructions: You may need to add a few tablespoons of stock and whisk vigorously to thin out the gravy.

MAKE-AHEAD TURKEY GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the turkey pieces on a rimmed baking sheet, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Roast until browned and cooked through, about 30 minutes.
• Transfer the roasted turkey pieces to a medium saucepan; scrape up any brown bits from the baking sheet, and add them to the saucepan. Add the stock, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, then cook for 30 minutes to enrich the stock with roasted-turkey flavor. Strain the liquid into a heat-safe bowl, and keep warm.
• Melt the butter in the saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour, and whisk until the mixture is smooth, toasted and a deep golden brown. Slowly pour in the warm broth, whisking continuously, and continue whisking until the mixture comes to a simmer. Continue to cook, still whisking, until the gravy is thick and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Let the gravy cool to room temperature. Transfer it to an airtight container or resealable plastic freezer bag, label and date, and freeze for up to 2 weeks.
• To serve, reheat the frozen gravy in a saucepan or a microwave. Be sure to whisk vigorously as the gravy heats up to keep lumps from forming. Adjust the seasoning as needed.

RICH MAKE-AHEAD TURKEY GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place the turkey wings, onions, celery, carrots, and garlic into a roasting pan, and roast until the turkey wings turn a deep golden brown color, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Transfer the cooked wings and vegetables to a large pot. Place the roasting pan over 2 stove burners on medium-high heat, then pour the white wine into the roasting pan. Scrape off and dissolve any browned flavor bits from the bottom of the pan into the white wine; heat and scrape the roasting pan until the drippings and wine have reduced to about 1/2 cup. Pour the wine mixture into the saucepan with the turkey wings.
• Pour chicken broth and water into the pot, and season with thyme. Push the turkey wings down into the liquid; bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes. Skim off any foam that collects on top. Pour the broth mixture through a colander into a large bowl; pick meat from the wings, if desired, to add to gravy, or discard the spent wings and vegetables. Allow the gravy base to stand for several minutes for the fat to collect into a layer on top, and skim as much fat as possible. Transfer the skimmed fat into a saucepan. There should be at least 1/2 cup of turkey fat; add butter to make this amount if necessary.
• Whisk the flour into the turkey fat over medium heat until the flour mixture becomes smooth and golden brown. Gradually whisk in the broth until the gravy comes to a boil and thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow the gravy to cool, then refrigerate or freeze. Reheat almost to boiling to serve.

MAKE-AHEAD DELICIOUS TURKEY GRAVY

Steps:

• Cut the turkey wing into pieces with a heavy knife. (If using neck and giblets, cut the neck into three or four pieces. Trim the tough membrane from the gizzard. Rinse all neck pieces and giblets, and pat them very dry with paper towels.).
• In a large saucepan, melt the butter, and, when its foaming begins to subside, add the turkey pieces.
• Season with salt and pepper, and sauté over medium heat until golden brown - about 15-20 minutes.
• Add the coarsely chopped vegetables and garlic, season again with salt and pepper, and continue sautéing (add small bits of butter if necessary to prevent scorching) until vegetables begin to color slightly - about 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle over the flour, and continue sauteing, stirring constantly, until the floured vegetables turn brown - about 10 minutes.
• Add the thyme, bay leaves and water to the vegetables, whisking or stirring briskly to incorporate flavors and prevent lumps.
• When the liquid begins to boil, lower the heat and allow to simmer for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Strain the sauce and discard the solids. Reserve the sauce. You should have about 4 cups of sauce.
• *This sauce may be made ahead to this point. It may be served as-is, OR thickened before serving.
• Alternatively, pan drippings may be added before serving and additional thickening may be added at that time.
• TO ADD PAN DRIPPINGS TO GRAVY:.
• Remove the roasted turkey and the cooking rack from the roasting pan; place the pan over two burners on the stove, heat adjusted to medium-high. Pour one cup of dry white wine (or dry vermouth) into the pan and bring the liquid to a simmer. With a wooden spoon or spatula, scrape the pan bottom to loosen the browned bits. Remove the roasting pan from the heat, and strain the liquid into a measuring cup, discarding the solids left in the strainer.
• Allow the liquid in the cup to stand so that the fat separates to the top - then, tilting the measuring cup, skim off the fat with a shallow spoon. Reserve the fat if you intend to thicken the gravy furthur while adding the pan drippings!
• De-fatted pan drippings (in the measuring cup above) may simply be added to the sauce, if no further thickening is desired. Whisk in the drippings, and allow sauce to simmer for a few minutes to develop flavors.
• *TO ADD DRIPPINGS AND ALSO THICKEN THE SAUCE AT THE SAME TIME:.
• Heat 4 tablespoons* of reserved turkey fat in a large saucepan until bubbling, then stir in an equal amount of flour (*use only half this amount of fat and flour if less thickening is desired for a thinner final gravy). Heat and stir the fat and flour mixture until bubbling - about 1 full minute, then gradually whisk in the defatted pan drippings, and finally, whisk in the finished sauce made ahead as described above. Reduce heat to a simmer, and simmer the drippings mixture with the sauce for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning with salt and pepper.
• NOTE: As the finished gravy is allowed to stand and cool, it will become thicker. To correct gravy that has become too thick, simply re-heat the gravy, adding water, turkey broth or chicken broth until it has thinned to desired consistency. Taste again for seasonings. A good idea: serve gravy in a warmed gravy boat or serving bowl.

MAKE-AHEAD GRAVY

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the turkey wings and cook, undisturbed, until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir, then continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, about 5 more minutes. Add the celery, onion and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and tender, about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup water, the thyme and bay leaves; bring to a simmer and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits, until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
• Add the turkey stock and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Add the dried mushrooms, if using, and simmer until reduced by one-third, about 30 minutes.
• Mix the butter and flour in a small bowl to make a paste. Stir into the simmering gravy and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large container. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate up to 5 days. Reheat over low heat.
• Combine the turkey wings, carrots, celery, onion and garlic in a large pot. Add 2 gallons cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low or medium low to maintain a gentle simmer.
• Simmer the stock about 4 hours, occasionally skimming any scum that rises to the surface with a spoon. Strain into another pot, discarding the bones and vegetables. Let the stock cool completely. (For faster cooling, set the pot of stock in a large bowl; add enough ice water to the bowl to come about halfway up the sides of the pot and let cool, stirring the stock occasionally.) Transfer the stock to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 5 days.

MAKE-AHEAD TURKEY GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Arrange a single layer of turkey wings in a large roasting pan. Scatter the onions over the top of the wings. Roast in the preheated oven for 1-1/4 hours or until wings are browned.
• Place browned wings and onions in a 5 quart stockpot. Add water to roasting pan and stir, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour the the water from the pan into the stockpot. Stir in 6 cups broth, carrot, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 1-1/2 hours.
• Remove wings from the pot and place on a cutting board. When the wings are cool, pull off the skin and meat. Discard the skin and save the meat for another use. Strain contents of stockpot through a large strainer into a 3 quart saucepan. Press on the vegetables to extract any remaining liquid. Discard the vegetables and skim the fat off the liquid. Bring the contents of the pot to a gentle boil.
• In a medium bowl, whisk flour into the remaining 2 cups chicken broth until smooth. Gradually whisk the flour mixture into the simmering turkey broth; simmer 3-4 minutes or until the gravy has thickened. Stir in the butter and pepper. Serve immediately or pour into containers and refrigerate or freeze.

MAKE AHEAD TURKEY GRAVY

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Arrange wings in a single layer in a large roasting pan.
• Scatter onions over top.
• Roast 1 1/4 hours until wings are browned.
• Put wings and onions in a 5-6 quart pot.
• Add water to roasting pan and stir to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom.
• Add the brown bits to the pot.
• Add 6 cups broth (refrigerate the remaining 2 cups) add carrot and thyme.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove wings to cutting board.
• Save wing meat for another use if you wish, or discard.
• Strain broth into a 3 quart saucepan, pressing vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible.
• Discard vegetables.
• Skim fat off broth and discard.
• If time permits, refrigerate broth overnight to make fat skimming easier.
• Whisk flour into remaining 2 cups broth until well blended.
• Bring broth in pot to a gentle boil.
• Whisk in broth flavored mixture and boil 3-4 minutes to thicken gravy and cook flour.
• Stir in butter and pepper.
• Serve now or freeze up to 6 months.

MAKE-AHEAD TURKEY GRAVY

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.

EASY MAKE-AHEAD TURKEY GRAVY

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, melt butter and whisk in flour.
• Cook over medium-high heat until flour is incorporated and white bubbles begin to form on the top of the roux.
• Cook the roux for 2-3 minute after the white bubbles have formed, whisking constantly.
• Gradually add the broth, whisking constantly until the gravy is thickened and comes to a boil.
• Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
• At this point, you can cool, cover and refrigerate the gravy base for as long as 4 days. Reheat in a medium-sized pan. When turkey is done, skim off fat and pour drippings into gravy base and bring it to serving temperature.

MAKE-AHEAD TURKEY AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place turkey on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side up. Sprinkle with poultry seasoning and pepper. Tuck wings under turkey; tie drumsticks together., Roast, uncovered, 30 minutes. In a 4-cup measuring cup, mix broth, herbs, lemon peel and juice, and garlic; pour over turkey. Roast, uncovered, until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°, 3 to 3-1/2 hours, basting occasionally with broth mixture. Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly., Remove turkey from pan; let stand at least 20 minutes before carving. Skim fat from cooking juices., To freeze: Carve turkey and place in shallow freezer containers. Pour cooking juices over turkey; cool slightly, about 1 hour. Cover and freeze up to 3 months., To serve: Partially thaw turkey in refrigerator overnight. Preheat oven to 350°. Transfer turkey and cooking juices to a large baking dish. Pour 1-1/2 cups broth over top. Bake, covered, until a thermometer inserted in turkey reads 165°, 50-60 minutes., To prepare gravy: Remove turkey to a platter, reserving broth mixture; keep warm. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in broth mixture; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Serve with turkey.