The Best Homemade Turkey Gravy Ever!

In the 1980s, gravy was one of many healthful foods that was blamed for Americans’ ballooning waistlines. This was sad because it deprived countless individuals of vital minerals they were simultaneously told to buy in pill form or to entrust to “enriched” foods.

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According to nutrition pioneer, Hazel Parcells, illness does not occur in a body replete with minerals. In fact, she attributed her long life — 103 at the time of this statement — to absorbing minerals through the soles of her feet when playing on piles of mined salt barefoot as a child.

Bones and organ meats are both potent sources of minerals with organ meats offering an outstanding protein profile for building or rebuilding health. At Thanksgiving, I make use of that giblet bag contents that come with fresh turkeys. The liver (sometimes heart) goes in my cornbread sausage stuffing; the neck, gizzard, sometimes heart or wing tips, and whatever else your meat purveyor might include go into this basic stock.

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I rarely do more than thicken this stock and call it ‘gravy’. Still, visitors single it out for being particularly delicious. If you want to make it more unique or elevate it with your culinary prowess, then consider something like blending in crème fraîche and fresh parsley at the end or sautéeing a shallot in butter, then adding in the chopped gizzard and heart leftover from making stock and toss in a few tablespoons of tomato paste, perhaps some brandy and finally adding in the stock to make a very flavorful sauce.

This sauce now goes through a strainer (give solids to your chickens!) for a silky gravy you can now decide to thicken further or not. You could even try blending with a stick blender, if you’d like to get maximum nutrition out of it. But I’m lazy.

Let’s get started on the best homemade turkey gravy you’ll ever have.

Ingredients

• contents of turkey giblet bag, minus liver
• other turkey parts, such as head, feet, and wing tips (optional)
• 2 carrots, cut into 3″ segments
• 1 stalk celery, cut into 3″ segments
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped, or saved onion skins
• sea salt to taste
• 2T butter
• 2T flour
• 6 button mushrooms or other favorite mushrooms, chopped
• crème fraîche

How to Make the Best Homemade Turkey Gravy

Put all ingredients into a pot. Cover with water then bring to the boil over high heat. Skim off any impurities with a mesh strainer, then turn flame to low and cover pot with tight fitting lid. Simmer for at least 2 hours.

In a saucepan, melt butter and sauté mushrooms over high heat. This will char the outside a bit and keep them plump by sealing in water content. Lower heat, then dust with flour and continue to sauté so flour is distributed evenly.

Return heat to high and gradually stir in hot stock, whisking constantly. Once the thickness you want is reached, add a tad more stock or dilute with crème fraîche for a slightly more liquid consistency. As it sits out, it will continue to thicken as some of the liquid evaporates, while it’s still warm. This is why you want to make it a bit looser to start.

Adjust seasonings. Add fresh herbs such as parsley or even basil; stick with Thanksgiving herbs such as sage, thyme and rosemary; simply grind in some nutmeg or black pepper; or try some orange rind for an interesting twist.

Got a favorite turkey gravy recipe? Tell me your secrets below!