If you’ve got turkey, you’ve gotta have gravy. Am I right? I’d also like to say that if you’ve made a turkey, then you’d be crazy not to use the drippings to make that gravy. If you make my Lemon Fennel Roast Turkey, set aside those drippings, and then use them to make that gravy…oh then you’re life is going to be even more delicious! The lemon adds a bit of zip that allows the gravy to be rich without being too rich.
All you have to do is strain the drippings left over from roasting your turkey into a measuring cup and let the fat separate to the top. Then you skim off as much of that fat as you can and use the drippings, adding chicken stock as needed to get 6 cups of liquid (total), and away you go! Once you’ve got your liquid ready to go, you make a roux by melting butter in a small skillet and whisking in some flour (or for my gluten-free friends, banana flour!!), and continuing to whisk until the roux is golden brown (or if you use banana flour, you continue whisking until the roux thickens and dries out slightly). Then you bring your liquids to a boil in a saucepan, whisk in the roux, reduce the heat to low and keep simmering your gravy until it thickens. When it’s done you’ll want to taste it to see if it needs any extra salt or pepper, and season accordingly. And that’s it!
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Turkey Gravy
Makes 6 cups of gravy
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (or 3 tablespoons banana flour)
6 cups liquid made up of turkey drippings and/or chicken stock*
Fine grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1. Make the roux: Melt the butter over medium heat in a small skillet, then whisk in the all-purpose flour. Reduce the heat to low and whisk until the roux is golden brown, about 2 minutes. If you are using banana flour, continuing whisking until the roux thickens and dries out slightly.
2. Bring the 6 cups of liquid to a boil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Whisk in the roux and reduce the heat to low, to keep the gravy at a simmer. Continue simmering the gravy until it thickens, about 5 minutes, then remove the saucepan from the heat. Season to taste with kosher salt and black pepper, if needed and serve.
*Recipe Notes: After the turkey is done roasting and is resting, strain the remaining turkey drippings into a measuring cup and allow the fat to separate and rise to the top. Skim off as much of the fat as possible. Measure out the drippings and add chicken stock as needed to reach 6 cups of liquid.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Does the banana flour give the gravy a similar consistency to using all-purpose flour? I’m also curious to know if it changes the flavor of the gravy at all. Looks great!
Yes, if you didn’t know that you used banana flour, you wouldn’t be able to tell. The consistency is spot on and the flavor doesn’t change at all! The only difference is in how much flour you use (a bit less than what you would need if you were using AP flour).
I made gravy for the first time last year and it was DISGUSTING. I totally didn’t have the right ratio of roux to liquids or something because the gravy was gluey and had a really strong salty flavor. Your recipe seems so approachable, I may just have the courage to try again this year.
Sara, YOU CAN DO IT!!!! One idea on the flavor…taste your drippings before you add extra stock/broth. If they are super salty, you may want to use a bit less of the drippings and more of your stock/broth, just to dilute those flavors a bit more. Fingers crossed for your best gravy year ever!
I’ve been gravy deprived for years now since I have to be gluten free. The GF starches just don’t cut it for me. Now that I have found out about banana flour I am anxious to try making gravy again. I am hoping for a thickener that will give me the texture you’d expect from a gravy thickened with rue. My family is getting tired of soupy stew and no gravy for mashed vegetables. I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m making beef stew tonight and will use my home made beef bone broth for the liquid.