Gravy

A gravy is made by thickening juices from a roast with flour. Making a generous amount of well-flavored turkey jus or gravy involves a paradox; if the turkey is properly cooked or if it is stuffed, it will release little in the way of juices. When overcooked, as most turkeys are, it will provide plenty of juices for your gravy. If the turkey has released an abundance of juices—a couple of cups (500 milliliters) or more—serving the jus is a simple matter of skimming off the fat and serving the juices as they are, as a "jus." To convert them to gravy, make a roux and add the juices to that. To make giblet gravy, roast the giblets in the pan along with the turkey, chop them fine, and add them to the gravy.
If you've cooked your turkey just right, you won't see much in the bottom of the pan and what there is won't have a whole lot of flavor. To get the most flavor out of a small amount of juices, boil down the juices until they caramelize on the bottom of the pan, pour out the fat (or leave a few tablespoons in the pan if you're making a roux), and deglaze the pan with water or broth. Use only as much broth as you need to serve the guests at hand—about 3 tablespoons (45 milliliters) per person—because the more broth you add, the less flavorful the juice will be. If you're a fanatic, you can bring up the flavor of the jus by adding a little broth at a time and caramelizing after each addition. To stretch a small amount of jus without diluting its flavor, consider swirling in 1/2 ounce (15 grams) of butter per serving.

Order your turkey far enough in advance to make sure you get a fresh, rather than frozen, bird. Buy it from someone whom you trust, as lying about whether a bird has ever been frozen is common. It makes sense to buy a bird that's larger than you need so you'll have plenty left over for sandwiches, creamed turkey, soup, and the like. Take the bird out of the refrigerator 3 to 4 hours before it is scheduled to go in the oven. A room-temperature turkey will roast more quickly and evenly.

To make this delicious gravy, you will need to first make a flavorful stock with the reserved turkey giblets and neck (you can do this while the turkey is roasting). Also, reserve 3 tablespoons of the pan drippings from the turkey roasting pan (after the turkey has been removed to a platter), as well as the pan itself. Pour remaining drippings into a gravy separator and let stand until fat has risen to the top, about 10 minutes, or pour into a glass measuring cup and discard the fat that rises to the top.

For the best poultry gravy, do not roast the turkey or chicken in a nonstick roasting pan: It keeps the flavorful bits of meat and skin from cooking onto the pan.

We serve this flavorful gravy over meatloaf and mashed potatoes, but it is equally good with other classic comfort foods, such as ham and biscuits.

Add the giblets and neck to the pan with the turkey 1 1/2 hours after the oven temperature is reduced to 350°F in step 5 (recipe above).

Serve this versatile sauce to dress up sautéed tofu, tempeh, or mashed potatoes. See suggestions for its use in Smashed Yukon Gold Potatoes with Shiitake-Miso Gravy (page 208) and Tempeh and Green Beans with Shiitake-Miso Gravy (page 76).

This gravy was inspired by my family’s visit to Taste of Life, a wonderful vegan eatery in Tel Aviv. The café is run by the community of Black Hebrews, who also produce most of the tofu and seitan distributed in Israel at their village in the southern part of the country. They serve their own wonderful products at Taste of Life (which is connected to the small chain of Soul Vegetarian Cafés in the United States). When we ate there, their tender seitan was topped with a tasty gravy. The server shared the recipe with me, which I’ve interpreted below. There’s not much to it, honestly, but it’s quick and tasty. Serve it over grains, mashed potatoes, seitan, and tempeh. See a good use for it in Tofu and Seitan Mixed Grill (page 44).

This gravy is so good you may just end up eating it like soup, spoonful after spoonful. We ladle it over practically any meatball in this book, and we also really love it over a big steaming bowl of Mashed Potatoes (page 79). You can make it ahead, though be careful to stir it frequently while reheating, scraping up the sauce on the bottom of the saucepan to avoid burning.

For some people, it just isn’t Thanksgiving without giblet gravy for the turkey and potatoes. Mom has included directions for a giblet-free version for those of us who have seen a giblet and never want to eat one!

This is one of those old-fashioned dishes that people either love or hate. I love creamed beef on toast. In fact, it’s what I have for breakfast on my birthday every year! In our house, this dish is affectionately known by another name I can’t print in this cookbook, but whatever you choose to call it, it’s yummy!

NO THANKSGIVING TURKEY IS COMPLETE WITHOUT a richly flavored gravy, but this is so good you’ll be using it year-round. Unlike most gravies, it can be made ahead to cut down on cooking stress.

Serve this flavorful gravy over any poultry dish or Turkey Meatloaf (page 111).

Pan gravy is classically made with the drippings of a roast. This method applies to any number of roasted meats: beef, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey. It’s easiest to make the gravy right in the pan that the meat was roasted in.