Let's Talk Gravy!

Oh Gawd, American gravy...

May the Lord have pity on your souls.

I don't understand where the salt is coming from?

Hi Nora_S, I have never prepared a kosher turkey, why are the drippings too salty? Asking as I have no idea. Having said that I am the worst gravy maker in the world, sigh.

If you do the salt rub on the turkey , rinse it off before roasting it.

I was never very good at gravy ... mine was always lumpy :- )

I missed the Kosher part .... Kosher turkey is salted after being killed, plucked and cleaned. This is something to do with the blood. But you just have to rinse it well, soak it in cold water before you cook it if you wish.

I love to make saucy things. To keep from using the drippings, simmer the turkey neck and giblets in water (add onion, and celery). Add that to a nice light-colored roux (equal parts of butter and flour) and it will be as low-sodium as you like.
You will need to add a little salt and some pepper, but all to your taste. You can also shred the neck meat and add that in if you like. Is butter ok for kosher?

Kosher turkeys are brined. That's where the salt comes from. We rinse and dry it before cooking, but the salt is all the way through.

And Mr. Hartley, well-made "gravy", from scratch, is quite good. I suppose ther is a better-sounding French name for it somewhere. . .

Sorry, I realized after I posted we must be talking about a brined turkey.

I always thought that the Kosher law forbid the mixing of meat and dairy products and I thought meat included poultry. Am I wrong? If I am not I would think mixing the drippings from the Kosher turkey with butter would not be acceptable but I sure don't know.

Scarlett, dear, if you think your homemade gravy is bad just thank your lucky stars you have never been served mine when I use to make it. Trust me! Gravy and piecrust is something I gave up on years ago.

I've really had to work on pie crust and finally have it after 20 some odd years, but gravy...no problem. If you get lumps...well that's what a strainer is for.

LoveItaly---you are correct, poultry is meat, but we don't follow all the dietary laws, so butter is OK. My husband was raised in a Conservative household but now he makes his own choices. He still won't eat ham or bacon, etc., but we don't separate meat and milk dishes.

We've only been married a few years, so I'm still getting used to this way of cooking.

I actually make very good, non-lumpy, tasty gravy---everyone loves it. But I'm used to using the pan drippings for extra flavor.

Oh, a strainer, well who knew, crefloors! Gads sometimes I am dense as you know. My stepson use to always makes the gravy which was fantastic until he remarried and his new wife..well you know..he doesn't join in with the family celebrations anymore. Guess I should have paid more attention during all the years when he prepared the gravy.

So you don't have to have separate dishes etc?
I think you are great to be cooking this way .. I really think much of it is healthier but it is a lot of work!
I thought if you soaked the turkey in cold water, it would help with the saltiness.
Maybe you could do a half/half thing with half the drippings and something like canned broth that is unsalted ? listen to me, I am clueless about making good gravy lol.

I don't think there's a way to de-salt the drippings. But have you tried using a sodium-free chicken broth? (Or making your own broth from the neck, wing tips, and giblets?)

You might also try deglazing your roasting pan with some wine--preferably a fortified wine like sherry, madeira, or marsala. That will add some acid and some sugar to balance the salt.

For lump-free gravy a wire whisk is the trick. Melt the butter, stir in the flour (equal amount) and I add white pepper at this stage. Cook and stir with the wire whisk until it is slightly (or more) browned. Add hot liquid a wee bit at a time, whisking constantly so it stays smooth. Then more broth, and more, . . and bring it to a boil to see how thick it is.

I may try the Cook's Illustrated recipe which has part white wine---that will cut down on the salt too.

jahoulih---I just saw your post. Great ideas, thanks. I will make my own salt-free broth, but I know that if I use all the drippings it's still too salty. Maybe I can remove all but the deepest brown ones and then deglaze with the wine? Marsala sounds good!

I am going to try it . I will call it NoraS gravy if it works.

I have one of those little hand beater things, it has a whisk attachment.. saves arms from getting tired.
The wine sounds right..and it will add that nice richness to the flavor .

Make stock with carrots, onions and celery and the turkey neck(I hate the giblets thing ever since I was a kid!). Let it simmer and get quite rich.

Soak the bird pre-roasting as Scarlett suggests

once you have removed the bird from the roasting pan deglaze with white wine or chicken stock. Our this into a saucepan and slice up some white potato chunks(they will absorb some of the salt) and boil covered. Check and see how salty it is and use it or not accordingly.

Slowly whisk in chicken stock and deglazing broth(taking potato out of it before whisking into roux) a little at a time.

simmer until it thickens. I use 1 C of Madeira when making my gravy at this point and simmer it some more until it's thick "enough". The Madeira may be a nice counterpart to the saltiness as well.



You can make a roux with flour(I always use Wondra) and margarine(I think butter would not be kosher??) Do use the butter instead of margarine as I just re-read your post and see a mitzvah has occured at your house -butter is permitted

Marsala is sweeter than Madeira.

Rather than discard part of the drippings, my inclination would be to dilute them as much as necessary with salt-free broth and wine, and just make more gravy. You can always freeze it and use it for something else later.

Has anyone tried Trader Joe's new-for-2009 gravy? Hey, don't shoot me, I'm only asking -- might stock some in the cupboard for a rainy day if it's any good.

I'm skimming through their ad/flyer that came in the mail and it reads:

"Okay, we admit it: last year we missed the boat - the gravy boat that is ... we won't go there. That's why this year our buyers set out to achieve jaw-dropping deliciousness. So did we hit it? We think so. This year, Trader Joe's All Natural Gravy is flowing with rich, savory flavor. Smooth and luscious, it enhances the proclivity to pour it over everything on your plate. Don't be shy: a 17.6 ounce container is $1.49. Good gravy! Even the value is better than ever."


That's a good price (if it's edible). So has anyone tried it yet?

I add some Tony Chacherie's brown gravy seasoning for a great Cajun flavor.

Last year someone turned me onto making gravy in advance using roasted turkey wings. I made it and it was fabulous, and I was not in the kitchen at the last minute trying to make gravy. Lost the recipe and when I googled "turkey wing gravy", I found something similar made by Tyler Florence on Food Network when he was grilling his turkey (grilling = no drippings). Allow me to share this:

Turkey Wing Gravy
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
• Yield:
5 to 6 cups
Ingredients
• 2 pounds turkey wings
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, halved
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 1 head garlic, smashed
• 1/2 bunch fresh sage
• 1/2 bunch fresh thyme
• 8 black peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Put the turkey wings* into a small roasting pan and roast them until they are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, garlic, herbs, and peppercorns and cook for 5 minutes. Add the turkey wings. Pour some water into the roasting pan and scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom; add this to the pot. Cover everything in the pot with cold water by 1-inch and bring to the boil, skimming any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Strain out the solids and discard. Wipe out the pot and put it over medium heat. Melt the butter with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and add the flour. Cook this roux, stirring frequently, until it is golden brown. Slowly whisk in the strained stock being careful to work out any lumps. Cook until the gravy has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.

You can make this several days in advance, refrigerate, or if you wish, freeze.

Hi, socaltraveler, I think this is the receipe you remember, I put it into my favorites. I haven't made the gravy yet so I have no idea how good it is.

http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/english/2009/11/16/visualizza_new.html_1618354127.html

Well for crying out loud, that wasn't the website, obviously, sorry about that!

Here it is: http://www.womansday.com/Recipes/Make-Ahead-Turkey-Gravy-Recipe2

Socal, the makeahead gravy I use with the turkey wings is from Woman's Day magazine. Comes out perfect every time and is their most requested recipe. Here's the link:

http://www.womansday.com/Recipes/Make-Ahead-Turkey-Gravy-Recipe2

I have my whole family making this now!

LOL LI, we were posting at the same time!

Makeahead gravy! This sounds perfect for my purposes--I'm going to start on it this weekend!

Yes we were but my first website was not exactly about make ahead gravy, Toucan2. I don't know how that happened.

Anyway, it is great to hear the gravy is wonderful. I plan on having my act together and making it this year. My daughter especially would be most happy!

Well, I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I scrape up all the drippings, throw in a cup or two of water plus the turkey neck and organs and let it all simmer for 20 minutes or so, then strain it and mix it with a packet of Knorr's Roast Turkey Gravy. I don't brine my turkey, so there's no salt issue.

A butter mitzvah! Good one, PamSF. I'll pass that on to my husband.

I think the whole point of roasting a turkey is just an excuse to be able to make good gravy! It's my favorite part of the whole meal I think.

I've used the make-ahead recipe too, but I have just used it to add to the "real" gravy - to extend the quantity. I do think it is pretty impossible to make really good gravy without the roasted brown bits of drippings from the bottom of the pan.

I did see that Costco has a fresh turkey gravy available from Paul Bertolli. He's the chef who used to be at Chez Panisse and then Oliveto's and now has his own cured meat company. I tend to trust his approach to food, so sometime intend to try his gravy (when I haven't roasted a turkey myself). Has anybody tried it?

I almost hope I don't like it, as I hardly need to have a diet consisting of 80% turkey gravy - which just might happen if I don't have to roast a turkey myself to get it.

NORA
I asked my son, who is a chef this question. He said you can't take de salt, you would have to add something - stock, cream. He sometimes finishes with sour cream. Basically you have to increse the volume.

Hope this helps.

But NorCalif, don't you use the browned bits from roasting the wings in your gravy? I do, or is not quite enough for you?

Oh my - count me in as another one who hasn't a clue when it comes to gravy. My DH's grandmother tried to teach me years ago. Thanks for these recipes. I will have to use one of them next week since I am hosting T-giving dinner. DH is deep frying the turkey, so I not sure if I will have drippings so to speak.

I have never had a deep fried Turkey.
I am not sure if I am missing something or not lol ... I am guessing you live in a warm place, Florida?
They did it there when we lived in Jax , but my husband looked so horrified that I roasted ours and just heated the house up to 100 for the day ... oy ~

Deep fried turkey is really good if done properly. But, the turkey can't be too big or a) it won't fit in the fryer and b) (and most important) when they are too big you have to fry them too long. My brother makes a mean fried turkey. Again, if done properly, it's fried at a high temp which crisps the skin and the meat is really juicy.

Of course, the way I make it is good too

Thanks LoveItaly for the link,now I have two similar recipes to play with. I think the drippings and browned bits from roasting the wings are plenty for me. Having made gravy at the last minute for years, I much prefer taking a longer, slower approach on the weekend before, no need for nervous sweat as the last ingredient. I like it best when I am the only cook in the kitchen, so on Thursday I am out while the turkeys are being carved, and the potatoes are being mashed - actually it's my time to mingle with guests. Enjoy your gravy however it is prepared (and I am not against a good purchased one either).

Well socaltraveler, there is a change in plans, the number of people at the table that is. There will be just three of us and we decided to skip the turkey etc. We are going to have steaks instead. Not traditional for Thanksgiving but it sure will be an easy dinner! And personally I like steak better than turkey.

What brand of chick. broth is sodium free?

There is a Swansons Organic chicken broth that I think is sodium free and got rated fairly high by Cooks Illustrated.

www.swansonbroth.com/ourproducts.aspx

Looks like it has 550mg. per cup that's kind of high when cooked down.

Here's one that's virtually sodium free (60 mg per cup):

http://healthyheartmarket.com/sheltonsnsachickenbroth.aspx

I haven't tried it myself, but the ingredient list looks wholesome.

That's great jahoulih. Not sure where you can buy it but I noticed they also had Healthy Valley which I've seen in my Health food store.
It has 130mg per cup which isn't bad at all.

Yikes Cybor, glad you found that.

if you are having to used salted kosher turkey, how will making gravy with turkey wings help? won't they need to be salted too? if it's a culinay rather than religious thing, why not use an unsalted bird in the first place?

someone else got in with the potato tip - boiling potatoes in the liquid should help, depending on how salty it is! and if you use the giblets to make stock, leave out the salt - it's surprising how often I forget to do this, even when know the salt wil be coming from elsewhere.

and Nora, if all else fails, thank your lucky stars that you haven't done what I did one Christmas, and make the turkey gravy with fish stock. and then there was the time I strained it through a perforated vegetable steamer, into another perforated vegetable steamer, and got hot stock all over my new slippers. laugh - you had to be there.

Thanks everyone! You've all been a great help.

I used the recipe given by socialtraveler (but using chicken bones I had saved up, instead of turkey wing) and omitting the salt, to prepare a strong, richly flavored and salt-free broth.

On Thanksgiving Day, I plan to pour off all the liquid drippings, and use just the deeply-browned bits that stick to the pan, to make the gravy. I'll make a separate roux, deglaze the roasting pan with a bit of wine, and combine it all to make, I hope, a nice sauce that is just right. I can always add more salt if it needs it--just can't subtract if there's too much.

I'm hoping this will result in just the right amount of salt.

annhig---I can't imagine how that tasted with fish stock! What did you do to rescue it? And I hope you didn't burn your feet with the other mistake!

Maybe we should start a new thread on Famous Holiday Meal Gaffs---or is there one already?

When you pour off the liquid drippings, I'd suggest saving them, and then adding them back to the gravy until it's salty enough.

Famous holiday meal gaffs~I will start that thread and begin with the year the sewage line backed up...

Can't wait to hear the story, PamSF!