The trick to good gravy has a lot to do with forethought and advanced planning.  In my Preparing Awesome Turkey entry from yesterday, I laid out how to brine and season the turkey, which in the end all works toward making good gravy.  Gravy is only as good as the meat juices left in the bottom of the tray once the turkey is cooked.  Adding the bacon on top of the turkey adds to the flavour of the gravy.

How to make great gravy

When starting to prepare a large meal like Thanksgiving, you will accrue a lot of helpful items that will aid you in making great gravy. A good idea is to have a small container handy while you are doing the prep of any vegetables.  If you have any peeled potato, yam or carrot skins, put them in the container.  Some extra broccoli or cauliflower ends? Leftover garlic?  Throw them in too.  You don’t need to put all your skins in there, just a handful of each as you go along, then compost the rest if you have that option.  As I mentioned in the turkey recipe, when you remove the neck and organs from the turkey, don’t throw them out, put them in your collected container.  If you’re doing your prep the day before, close up the container and put it in the fridge for the next day.

The next morning after you’ve prepped the turkey and got it into the oven, pull out your collection of scraps and put them in a small sauce pot.  Add water so the ingredients are submerged.  I had some celery and fresh parsley that I cut up and tossed into the mix as well.  Turn onto low and leave it.  We have a warming area on our stove, which worked well for simmering the ingredients.  Essentially you are cooking a broth for use later with the gravy.

The next step is to collect the boiling water from the mashed potatoes.  Instead of pouring this valuable asset down the sink, collect it into a large bowl.  If you’re boiling stuff like turnip or peas on the stove, collect the water in this bowl too.  The water has the flavour of the vegetables in it, making it a worthy addition to the gravy.

Once the turkey is done and removed from the roasting pan, you are ready to make some gravy.  Remove any meat or stuffing that might have fallen into the pan during cooking, leaving just the juices from the turkey.  Strain the liquid broth from the sauce pot into the roasting pan and discard the neck, organs and vegetables at this point.  At this point you’ll want to judge how much gravy you need to make.  If you need to make it stretch, add some of the boiled water into the mix, though don’t add too much.  Put the roasting pan on a large stove element(or 2, depending on the size of your roasting pan) and bring the liquid to a boil.

In a small mug or container, add 3 tbsp of corn starch or flour.  Add in some water from our boiled water bowl to fill the mug, then stir to mix together until the corn starch or flour is absorbed into the water.  Corn starch/flour is what will thicken the gravy.

Once the liquid is boiling, add in a bit of the corn starch mixture, making sure to mix it in as you add it.  Using a fork or whisk, keep stirring the gravy until begins to thicken.  Once you have some thickened gravy do a taste test.  If it tastes weak, add a few teaspoons of salt.  Typically you want the gravy to have a pleasant salty flavour.  Add some fresh ground pepper as well to taste.  Once you’re satisfied with the taste, it’s ready to serve.