Gravy holds a special place with many meals. It is a mixture of flavors serving as a condiment or sauce to pour over meats, vegetables and even added to sandwiches. When baking a turkey or roast, use the drippings -- all those flavorful fat juices falling from your main course -- to make your gravy. Once the roasted item is done, use the drippings as the foundation of your gravy. While the foundation is baked, gravy is thickened on the stove top to get the right texture and consistency.
Step 1
Bake the turkey or roast as recommended by your butcher, the product label or your recipe. Place a roasting pan under the roast to catch the drippings. Most turkeys are cooked in a pan with the juices basting it as it bakes.
Step 2
Pour the drippings from the pan into a degreasing cup. The degreasing cup looks like a measuring cup with a filter on the top. The broth from the drippings will collect in the bottom of the cup, while thicker fat remains in the filter compartment.
Step 3
Measure 3 tsp. of fat from the top filter container and return it to the roasting pan. If you are unable to retrieve the roasting pan at this time -- perhaps the turkey is still setting -- use a large saucepan. Discard the rest of the collected fat drippings.
Step 4
Pour the broth drippings from the lower part of the degreasing cup into the roasting pan or saucepan.
Step 5
Turn the stove onto medium-high heat, placing the roasting pan or saucepan directly over the burner.
Step 6
Add 2 to 4 cups of chicken broth to the pan. Whisk the ingredients together, making them homogeneous.
Step 7
Mix 3 tbsp. of butter with 3 tbsp. of flour, making a thick paste. The paste helps prevent clumping as the flour is added to the pan.
Step 8
Whisk the butter-flour paste into the mixture to thicken the gravy. Do this slowly to prevent clumping of the flour. Gravy is ready after about 5 minutes of stirring.
Step 9
Season with 1 tsp. of salt and 1 tsp. of pepper.
Tips and Warnings
- Larger batches of gravy require more flour. If the gravy is not thickening, make more butter-flour paste and add it in.
Things You'll Need
- Roasted meat (turkey, chicken, beef )
- Roasting pan
- Degreasing cup
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoon
- Stove-top
- Chicken broth
- Butter
- Flour
- Bowl
- Whisk
- Spoon
- Salt
- Pepper
References
- Food Network; Turkey Pan Gravy; Food Network Kitchens
- "Craig Claiborne's Kitchen Primer"; Craig Claiborne; 1969
- Cooking Light: The Most Common Cooking Mistakes
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