Like my smoked turkey, I riff on Meathead’s turkey gravy method, add in some stuff I gleaned from Chef Jean-Pierre and some things I learned from my grandmother. My daughter demanded I write it down for her, which I did. And now you guys get it too :-)
Ingredients
tbsp canola oil
2 onions, rough chopped
2 shallots, quartered
2 medium carrots
2 celery stalks, leaves on
4 cloves garlic
3 quarts water
2 cups white wine
1 tbsp dried, crumbled sage leaves
2-3 sprigs each of fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary
2 whole bay leaves
Neck, heart, gizzard, back, wing tips from turkey (discard the liver). Trim excess skin and fat from the turkey, plus the tail
Method
Gravy Prep - 24 hours prior to cooking turkey
Cook Gravy
Ingredients
tbsp canola oil
2 onions, rough chopped
2 shallots, quartered
2 medium carrots
2 celery stalks, leaves on
4 cloves garlic
3 quarts water
2 cups white wine
1 tbsp dried, crumbled sage leaves
2-3 sprigs each of fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary
2 whole bay leaves
Neck, heart, gizzard, back, wing tips from turkey (discard the liver). Trim excess skin and fat from the turkey, plus the tail
Method
Gravy Prep - 24 hours prior to cooking turkey
- Peel carrots, cut into 2-3 inch lengths
- Cut celery into 2-3 inch lengths, leave the leaves on
- In a large sauce pot, heat 2 tbsp canola oil
- Add turkey parts and cook until golden brown ... alternatively, roast the turkey parts in the oven at 400F for 30 minutes
- Reserve the turkey parts
- If needed, add another 1 tbsp of canola oil
- Add the onion and cook until golden brown, then add shallots and let them cook
- Add the garlic and cook until frangrant, about 1 minute
- Add the wine and let it reduce for about 5 minutes
- Add carrot, celery, herbs
- Return the turkey parts and cover everything with water
- Simmer for 15 minutes
- Pour everything into your pan for cooking the gravy in the smoker and place in the refrigerator
Cook Gravy
- On day of, put gravy pan under the turkey on the smoker
- Cook with the turkey until about 30 minutes before removing the turkey
- Remove gravy pan carefully without dumping turkey in the fire or on the ground
- Bring gravy in the house and pour through a strainer into a 4 qt pot
- Discard all the solids
- Use fat separator, basting bulb, or a large spoon to remove the fat
- Make a medium roux in your gravy pot
- 4 tbsp each of melted butter and flour
- Put in gravy saucepan over medium heat
- whisk until smooth
- keep whisking until it is a pale amber color, about 3 minutes
- Pour 1 cup of stock into the roux, slowly pouring and whisking until the gravy thickens and there are no lumps
- Taste, adjust seasoning
- Pour an additional cup of stock into the gravy and whisk in until smooth
- Serve gravy, reserve remaining stock for soups, etc
Comment