Make Ahead Turkey Gravy

Submitted by Dona England

"This recipe is from Women's Day Magazine 11/1999. It's a life saver for me, it takes some of the stress from Thanksgiving Day."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Yields: 6 cups

ingredients

• 3 lbs turkey wings (4)
• 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
• 1 cup water
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 3⁄4 cup carrot, chopped
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3⁄4 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper

directions

1. Heat oven to 400°F.
2. Arrange wings in a single layer in a large roasting pan.
3. Scatter onions over top.
4. Roast 1 1/4 hours until wings are browned.
5. Put wings and onions in a 5-6 quart pot.
6. Add water to roasting pan and stir to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom.
7. Add the brown bits to the pot.
8. Add 6 cups broth (refrigerate the remaining 2 cups) add carrot and thyme.
9. Bring to a boil.
10. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 1 1/2 hours.
11. Remove wings to cutting board.
12. Save wing meat for another use if you wish, or discard.
13. Strain broth into a 3 quart saucepan, pressing vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible.
14. Discard vegetables.
15. Skim fat off broth and discard.
16. If time permits, refrigerate broth overnight to make fat skimming easier.
17. Whisk flour into remaining 2 cups broth until well blended.
18. Bring broth in pot to a gentle boil.
19. Whisk in broth flavored mixture and boil 3-4 minutes to thicken gravy and cook flour.
20. Stir in butter and pepper.
21. Serve now or freeze up to 6 months.

Reviews

[Andi Longmeadow Farm]

Lawdy, you don't need my review, because clearly this is a recipe made in heaven, but I wanted to gather the children, put out the dogs, and bring everyone to the table on this one. I do make my own gravy, and don't usually have trouble with it, but the perfection of this recipe is two-fold, one ~ you can do it prior to Turkey Day, and when cooking for vegans, and non-vegans alike, I could certainly use some time saving recipes. And this is it! I made this and used the first amount for our dinner, which included homemade mashed taters. I did/and loved it! Oh man, I honestly, truly, most definitely, love this. However, it's so dang hard not to devour the turkey wings post taking from oven. Thanks for posting such a perfect recipe, I did NOT change one thing.

 

[ColoradoCooking]

I’ve been making for years. It’s a fantastic recipe. Getting it made again for next week. I use turkey drumsticks.

 

[Ellen W.]

Life-changing recipe. No more fussing with gravy while your guests wait for the turkey to rest. A couple of tips: Better Than Bullion now has a turkey flavor which can be substituted for chicken broth. Also, if you have an enamel cast-iron braiser, like Le Creuset, roast your wings in it, deglaze, and then it transfers to the stove top for the simmering. One pan to clean.

 

[harleydynagirl2002]

Would like someone to please explain step number 19 which states, "Whisk in broth flavored mixture and boil 3-4 minutes to thicken gravy and cook flour". Do I take this to mean whisk the broth with the flour? This step is not very clear.

 

[Vicki in CT]

11/11/2012 I have made this every year for the past five years when I found this fabulous recipe. This year I did make to changes which I will continue to do in the future. One is a used a whole chicken (cut up) instead of turkey wings since I couldn't find at store. Secondly instead of thyme used poultry seasoning. Made a great recipe even better. Made chicken salad with chicken which was great since it had cooked with the veggies. Awesome!<br/>11/2007Thanks, Rae! Wonderful, rich, gravy. Was enjoyed by all this Thanksgiving. Lifesaver for ease of making. I roasted the carrots with the wings and onions. Excellent, can't express how good this was.