The Greatest Gravy Ever

At least that’s what Woman’s Day magazine called it in the late 1990s when I started using this recipe. I hate to admit this, but I had a HUGE learning curve when it came to making gravy. That’s pretty embarrassing for a Southern Woman. But I persevered and when I came across this recipe, I found I was on to something good. It’s make ahead. I make it before Thanksgiving and usually freeze half for Christmas.

*Note this picture is from the internet. I am making the base for the gravy today and could not find a picture from a previous year.

This recipe makes 8 cups. It takes about 3 hours total but not active cooking, so I always make it on a day I am home but have other things to do. It keeps about a week in the refrigerator and will freeze for a month or so without any problem. If you freeze, thaw in the refrigerator for a couple of day before reheating.

Another useful tip if you have time – refrigerate the gravy base over night. This will allow the fat to rise to the top and be easily removed.

One more tip – On Thanksgiving (or whenever), you can skim fat from the turkey pan and add the remaining drippings to this gravy.

What You Need: 

• 4 turkey wings, about 3-4 pounds (This year I used legs because I could not find turkey wings.)
• 2 medium onions, peeled and cored (Don’t forget to save all your peels from the veges to make stock in the future!)
• 1 cup water
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 2 medium ribs of celery with the leaves, cut into chunks
• 2 medium carrots, cut into chunks
• 4 springs of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine (I don’t use margarine, so I always use salted butter.)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste (This recipe doesn’t call for salt; however, taste the final gravy and add salt to your taste.)

What To Do:

• Heat the oven to 400 F. Have a large roasting pan ready.
• Put the wings in the pan. Add onions. Roast about 75 minutes or until the wings are browned.
• Put the wings and onions in a 5- to 6-quart pot. Add water to the roasting pan and stir to scrape up any brown bits (FLAVOR!) Add this to the pot. Add 6 cups of chicken broth, the carrots, the celery, and the thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for about 90 minutes.
• Remove the wings. When cool, you may pull of the meat and save for another use.
• Strain the broth into a 3 quart saucepan. Discard the vegetables and skim off the fat. (See tip above.)
• Whisk flour into the remaining 2 cups of broth until blended and smooth.
• Bring turkey broth to a gentle boil. Whisk in the flour mixture and boil 4-5 minutes to thicken. Stir in the butter and pepper. Serve.