The Best Do Ahead Turkey Gravy Recipes

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.

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 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.

MAKE-AHEAD TURKEY GRAVY WITH ONIONS & SAGE

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute, stirring often, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onion becomes browned and starts to caramelize. Sprinkle on the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in the chicken stock, Cognac, sage leaves, bay leaves, 2 teaspoons salt (depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock), and 1 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour and strain, pressing the solids lightly and then discarding them. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• After the turkey is cooked, remove it to a carving board to rest while you finish the gravy. Place the roasting pan on the stovetop over medium heat and add the wine. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring and scraping up all the bits clinging to the bottom of the pan. Slowly whisk the gravy base into the pan. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the gravy is smooth and slightly thickened. Taste for seasonings and serve hot.

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.

DO AHEAD WHITE WINE AND SAGE TURKEY GRAVY - 2007

Steps:

• prep - 20 minute.
• cook - 2 1/2 hours.
• makes 4 cups gravy (without added drippings).
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• In a 15 1/2-inch x 10 1/2-inch jelly-roll pan or large roasting pan, place turkey wings, onions, celery and carrots.
• Roast for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until turkey wings turn a deep golden brown color.
• When wings are done transfer them and the vegetables to a 6-quart sauce pot, add 1 quart broth/stock, 4 cups of water and sage leaves; set aside.
• Place (used) roasting pan over two burners on top of range, add wine to roasting pan and cook on high heat, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan for 10 minutes or until wine is reduced to 1/2 cup.
• Add wine mixture to sauce pot with the wings; bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to low, and simmer, uncovered for 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Strain broth into an 8-cup liquid measuring cup, discard wings and vegetables, skim fat from broth and discard.
• If broth is less than 4 cups, add enough water to bring volume up to 4 cups (if broth is more than 4 cups, return broth to sauce pot, bring to boil, reduce heat and cook on medium-high until reduced to 4 cups).
• Return the 4 cups of broth to sauce pot; on high heat, bring to boiling.
• In a small bowl, add remaining 1/2 cup water to cornstarch, stir until well blended; using a whisk, blend cornstarch mixture into boiling broth and cook for 1 minute.
• Cool gravy, then transfer to plastic container with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze up to 1 month.
• Complete gravy after roasting the turkey: add strained and skimmed pan juices from the roasted turkey to the prepared (thawed, if was frozen) gravy, or thin with a bit of additional broth: heat well before serving.
• NOTE: For 24: Prepare gravy as above but instead use the following ingredient amounts: 4 turkey wings (3 pounds), 1 large red onion (12 ounces), 3 stalks celery, 3 carrots, 6 cups broth/stock, 6 cups water, 5 sage leaves, 1 bottle (750 ml) wine and 2/3 cup cornstarch.
• Reduce wine to 1 cup.
• Bring volume of broth to 6 cups instead of 4 cups.
• Dissolve cornstarch in 1 cup of water before stirring into simmering broth. Add juices from roasted turkey as above. Makes about 7 cups of gravy without drippings.

THE BEST (DO-AHEAD) TURKEY GRAVY

Steps:

• In deep 12 inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot.
• Add turkey wings and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until golden on all sides.
• Add onions, carrots, celery and garlic, and cook 8-10 minutes or until turkey wings and vegetables are browned, stirring frequently.
• Transfer turkey and vegetables to a large bowl.
• Add wine to skillet, and stir until browned bits are loosened.
• Return turkey and veggies to skillet.
• Stir in broth, thyme and 3 cups water, heat to boiling over high heat.
• Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, uncovered, 45 minutes.
• Strain into an 8-cup measure or a large bowl; discard solids.
• Let broth stand a few seconds until fat separates from meat juice.
• Spoon 1/4 cup fat from broth into 2-quart saucepan; skim and discard any remaining fat.
• Add flour to fat in saucepan; cook, stirring over medium heat until flour turns golden brown.
• Gradually whisk in reserved broth and cook until gravy boils and thickens slightly, stirring constantly.
• Pour gravy into a 2-quart container or medium bowl, cover and refrigerate.
• At serving time, reheat gravy and add pan drippings (and/or cooked diced giblets) from the roast turkey if you like.
• Gravy can be reheated in microwave prior to serving.