Gravy Disaster

[6th Borough BBQ]

Made an amazing smoked Turkey on my Lang following the instructions for the Ultimate Turkey here. Very happy with the results! I was worried about maintaining such a high temperature for the first time but it turned out to be way easier than expected and held strong. That was the good news. The gravy on the other hand was pretty much a disaster and I ended up not using it.

I followed the instructions all the way down to the end, but did not have a "separator" as of course I realized I should have when it was too late. So I sat the gravy in a pan and waiting for it to separate but it never seemed to get a seperation that was clear enough for me to easily remove the fat from the rest of the liquid. Needless to say, I gave up and had a great gravy-less turkey for the first time.

It's too late for this time, but wondering if anyone has any ideas what I can do if I'm in this situation again? How to easily separate the parts of the gravy without that fancy contraption in the instructions that I didn't have?

I've attached a pic of my turkey roasting above the pan containing the gravy for fun (well before it was done).

[texastweeter]

strain it with a sieve when hot, then pop it in the fridge in a tall cylindrical container. The fat will harden into a "puck" on the top that is easily removed. quickly reheat and voila! BTW that condensed stock makes a killer pork injection base, gumbo, or tortilla soup base!

[EdF]

Turkey looks great. We tried the MH gravy some time last year (not Thanksgiving) and it was basically a fail. But I don't remember quite why.

[Nate]

My gravy definitely didn't turn out pretty. Partly because I had to use rub herbs instead of the dried leaves... at least that is my working theory... however we rolled with it and it was tasty and my father in law without being promoted mentioned how much he likes it and the fact it soaked in to the meat because of it being thin...

I recommend picking up an oxo separator. I love the things and use them frequently when reserving juice from wrapping pork butts etc...

[texastweeter]

when using rubbed herbs, make a "teabag" out of a coffee filter and some butchers twine. also if you put the onions, carrots, bay leaves, trimmings, giblets, and celery into a cotton mesh delicates laundry bag and throw in it makes it WAY easier to get all that junk out of the stock.

[allsid]

Had the same thing happen last night at the in-laws. Pan drippings looked insane, but the mother of SWMBO insisted it was mostly fat and I needed to fix it. Ended up pouring it into a 4 cup measure and used a turkey baster to siphon the goods off of the bottom after it rested in the fridge for 20 min. I will be buying her, and myself an oxo separator like Nate recommended. The gravy was amazing BTW, and mother of SWMBO didn't complain about the grease.

[texastweeter]

use that fat to make the roux for a white cream grave to go on the mashed potatoes. Add flour, and cook the roux until it is light brown, about like straw. Add in a splash of the stock, and some whole milk, and salt/pepper to taste. When it coats the back of the spoon well, throw in some thyme leaves to taste, simmer just a bit longer, and BOOM fancy folks gravy!

[Iron Bulldog]

If you have a sun tea jar with a spigot on the bottom it works great for a separator.

[MarkC]

I tried the Ultimate Smoked Turkey for the first time yesterday, and while the turkey came out fine, I wasn't a big fan of the gravy technique. The main problem with it is that by the time the turkey's done you want dinner on the table, and don't want to start fiddling with gravy. The gravy should be prepared during the time the turkey's roasting. Also the gravy came out looking like dishwater, would have taken a long time reducing it on the stove, if I wanted to go to the bother. Lastly, people like their silky, thickened gravy. I like the idea of a jus to moisten and flavor the turkey, so next year I'll reserve some turkey stock before making gravy.

[DWCowles]

Beautiful turkey! Sorry about the gravy.

[FireMan]

Have you thought of lumpy gravy by Willy or Frank Zappa?

[HouseHomey]

You are gangster and I'm still in little league. You kill me man!!

[HouseHomey]

6th Borough BBQ I have 4 of these. Pour in your stuff, let sit and the fat rises, pull the handle and it drains from the bottom.

Dont bother with anything else because you can use a ladle or spoon for that as texastweeter so smartly posted with the cylinder.

strain, pull and use.... Boom!! That's it.

[Oakgrovebacon]

Good looking bird! My experience is similar, Turkey was very tasty- gravy-a very thin stock. It did soak into the sliced meat well and keep it nice and moist. I ran the stickburner at 325-350 and cooked a 20 pound bird in 3 hours.

[alans38]

HouseHomey, where did you you find that handy device? It looks like something I need a couple of.

[FireMan]

MCS here we go, yeah.

[k2kyo]

The only way I've ever made MH gravy recipe work is by drastically reducing/replacing liquids. Water doesn't work nearly as well as white wine and some apple juice. Water doesn't seem to cook off as well and requires a lot of time on the stove boiling it down. That said, when you figure out your liquid amounts it's extremely good. It only takes a few minutes to separate it all out and strain, which is fine as I let the turkey rest a few minutes anyway (just for easier handling)

[troymeister]

I too have had difficulty with MH's gravy on the grill. I found it absorbed way too much smoke flavor even if I added no wood chunks or chips. The first time I tried it, I made two gravies, one on the stove with the giblets, the other on the grill under the turkey with the back and wing tips in the pan. No one liked the gravy from the grill. To separate the gravy I used texastweeter method while the turkey was holding in the faux cambro.

[Reds Fan 5]

We tried MHs gravy for the first time this year. It was oversmoked broth. We smoked a breast, not a whole turkey so I thought the problem might have been the lack of fat and drippings. After reading comments here I'm not so sure. I've also had similar experience with beans under ribs and pulled pork and stopped attempting that technique.

[texastweeter]

hmm, never had that problem. Always use pecan on poultry and hickory on pork. I vertical smoke so maybe that is the difference.

[EdF]

My wife insists that when I do a turkey outside, I do it with very little smoke, so I don't ruin the drippings for the gravy (which is her province). One compromise approach we've used is to get a package of wings, brown them with the neck, and toss into the stockpot with the giblets and other innards. Then the drippings go into the pan of extra stuffing. And I get to go for a somewhat more robust smoke flavor with the bird.

[texastweeter]

we save chicken carcasses and flappers/necks in the freezer. Almost all of our stock is home made. If it was too smokey, I would probably thin it out with some of our indoor made stock.

[EdF]

Yep, great plan! We do the same with all kinds of trimmings. Pork stock - that's a real number.