Turkey Giblet Gravy


 
Chris Allingham

Chris Allingham

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Here's a turkey giblet gravy recipe from the Nov/Dec 2001 issue of Cook's Illustrated:

  • Turkey giblets and neck cut into 2" pieces
  • 1 medium carrot, cut into 1" pieces
  • 1 celery rib, cut into 1" pieces
  • 2 small onions, chopped coarse
  • 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • 3-1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth (two 14-1/2 ounce cans)
  • 2 cups dry white wine
  • 6 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • Salt & ground black pepper

Heat oven to 450*F. Place turkey trimmings, carrot, celery, onions and garlic into a roasting pan. Spray lightly with Pam and toss to combine. Roast, stirring every 10 minutes, for 40-50 minutes.

Remove from oven, place on stove burner at high heat; add chicken stock and bring to a boil, scraping browned bits from the bottom of pan with a wooden spoon.

Transfer contents to a large saucepan. Add wine, 3 cups water, and thyme; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until reduced by half, about 1-1/2 hours. Strain stock into large measuring cup or container. Cool to room temp, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until fat congeals, at least 1 hour.

To finish gravy, skim fat and reserve the fat. Pour stock through fine-mesh strainer to remove remaining bits of fat; discard bits in strainer. Bring stock to simmer in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. In a second saucepan, heat 4 tablespoons reserved turkey fat over medium-high heat until bubbling; whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until combined and honey-colored, about 2 minutes. Continue to whisk constantly, gradually adding hot stock; bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt & pepper and serve.

May be refrigerated up to 3 days; reheat in saucepan over medium heat until hot, about 8 minutes.

You can probably find a ton of other giblet gravy recipes on the Internet using a search engine.

Regards,
Chris
 
Chris this looks like an excellent Turkey giblet recipe... however it may be a little too complicated for me on my first attempt... Does anybody have a simple, easy giblet recipe?
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Thanks Rita...

That recipe looks delicious and easy... I am boiling down the neck and giblet now... I plan to make the basic gravy and add the neck and giblet's ... I also thought the white wine sounded good in Chris's recipe above... I added a cup of white wine to my pot... I figure little more wine and a little less water will help any recipe...

Thank you again...

bugg
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cooking my birthday dinner
 
Well, Bill, the recipe that Chris posted isn't all that much different than the one I sent, except for roasting the neck, etc. That step adds a ton of flavor to the broth and ultimately to the gravy. It also makes for a darker gravy (more eye appeal). I hope you'll try that next time.

Rita
 
Bill, you can also roast your veggies, giblets, neck on the stovetop and deglaze from that pan.

Chris' recipe is good for the oven since there is minimal fat involved and less (if any) skimming required to remove since Pam is used instead of oil.
 
I found this recipe and have kind of taken ingredients, directions, and parts of everyone's recipe and added them together...

This recipe for classic turkey giblet gravy comes to us from the National Turkey Federation.

Reserved neck, heart, and gizzard from the turkey giblets package
1 medium carrot, thickly sliced
1 medium onion, thickly sliced
1 medium celery rib, thickly sliced
1/2 tsp. salt
1 turkey liver (also found in giblets package)
3 T fat from poultry drippings
3 T all-purpose flour

In a three quart saucepan over high heat, place neck, heart, gizzard, vegetables, and salt in enough water to cover. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Add liver and cook 15 minutes longer. Strain broth into a large bowl. Pull the cooked neck meat off the bones and discard bones. Coarsely chop the neck meat and cook giblets. Cover and keep the broth and giblets separately in the refrigerator until needed.
To make the gravy, remove the cooked turkey and roasting rack from the roasting pan. Pour the poultry dripping through a sieve into a 4-cup measuring cup.

Add 1 cup giblet broth to the roasting pan and stir until crusty brown bits are loosened: pour the deglazed liquid/broth into the 4-cup measure. Let the mixture stand a few minutes until the fat rises to the top.

Over medium heat, spoon 3 tablespoons fat from the poultry drippings into a 2 quart or larger saucepan. Whisk flour and salt into heated fat and continue to cook and stir until the flour turns golden.

Meanwhile, skim and discard any fat that remains on top of the poultry drippings. Add remaining broth and enough water to the poultry drippings to equal 3 1/2 cups. Gradually whisk in warm poultry drippings/broth mixture. Cook and stir until gravy boils and is slightly thick. Stir reserved giblets into cooked gravy, reheat to simmering and serve
 
I'll let you know how it turns out...I have my turkey in a brine in the refrigerator right now... Plan on smoking it tomorrow evening... I will finish off the giblet gravy once I take the turkey out of the smoker and retrieve the drippings...
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bugg
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appreciating the information...
 
Chris et al,
As soon is I put the bird in I make a "Mini Stock for gravey". I chop 2 shallots and add some chopped celery w/ leaves, a bay leaf and some sage w/ a bit of butter and saute. To this I add the neck cut into 2" pieces and the rest except the liver. To this I add 1 cup of white wine and 2 cups of water and simmer for a few hours. From this I use as a base for the gravey.
 
Please, Please, Please...
If you make giblet gravy, PLEASE try it with either roasted Turkey parts and Veggies, or, if you dont want to do that, just brown them good in the pot you're going to make the gravy in, it really does make a huge difference in the depth of flavor.
Not to oversimplify, but it'd be like the difference between sitting down to a plate of beautiful oven roasted Turkey (or chicken) or a plate of Turkey (or chicken) that had been boiled in plain water.
 
The giblet gravy turned out great... I did not have as much fat and drippings from the turkey that I expected...Probably a half a cup or less...there was plenty to brown the flour...

Everybody thought it was wonderful and I thought it was pretty good too... Certainly acceptable for my first try... I thought the wine added a great taste to the gravy...I would definitely use it again...

I very much appreciate all the advice and recipes... Thanks again for your help ...By the way the turkey turnout very good also...
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bugg
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grateful for the help
 
Michael and Ron ... For my Christmas gravy I'm taking your advice and roasting the vegetables in a black skillet before putting them in my stockpot... I'm deglazing the skillet with chicken broth and will poured that mixture in the pot... I absolutely think you're right ... Thank you for the suggestion...

bugg
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smoking turkey for Christmas
 
I'm planning my first time brined, first time smoked turkey using the high heat method. Any thoughts on roasting the turkey parts and veggies along side the turkey?
 
Michael Constable said:
Please, Please, Please...
If you make giblet gravy, PLEASE try it with either roasted Turkey parts and Veggies, or, if you dont want to do that, just brown them good in the pot you're going to make the gravy in, it really does make a huge difference in the depth of flavor.
Not to oversimplify, but it'd be like the difference between sitting down to a plate of beautiful oven roasted Turkey (or chicken) or a plate of Turkey (or chicken) that had been boiled in plain water.
Click to expand...

This Gravy is super simple and tastes LEGIT, it also really saves that last minute PITA of making gravy while everything else is coming out of the oven.
 
Got an email from Ron R asking, "I can't find any reference on how to handle the giblets after they've been removed from the stock. I'm assuming they get chopped up and added back in at the very end and that there's no additional steps in between."

My reply: "No, the giblets get strained out and discarded with everything else in that straining step. I think they’ve just about given their all to the stock at that point, but there’s no harm in adding the giblets back at the end of the process as you suggest."

After Thanksgiving, Ron said, "When the gravy was finished we elected to chop up the neck meat, heart & half of the gizzard in it. We left out the liver and the other half of gizzard because it would have been too much. Flavor was great and everyone enjoyed it."

So there you have it. Add some of the giblet and neck meat back into the gravy at the end, if desired.
 
I've been making the 'Mad Max' gravy for several years and that calls for taking the neck, etc and chopping them up for the gravy. Always brown them, and some veg first before adding water to make the stock. I love it, but have never done a 'control' batch without the 'innards' to see if there is a noticeable difference.
 
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