By
eHow Food & Drink Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Things You’ll Need:
- giblets
- 2 tbsp. chopped parsley
- 1 small red onion chopped
- 3/4 c. chopped celery
- 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- dry sherry to taste
- salt
- pepper
Step1
Take the turkey neck and giblets out of the turkey. You'll usually find them in a paper sack stuffed into the bird's body cavity.
Step2
Place the turkey neck and the giblets - except for the liver - in a medium saucepan. Cover with cold water to 2 inches above the giblets.
Step3
Add the onion, celery and parsley and bring to a boil over high heat, skimming the foam as it rises to the surface.
Step4
Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the saucepan and simmer for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Step5
Add the liver and simmer for 20 more minutes.
Step6
Use a strainer to strain the broth and reserve - refrigerated if the turkey won't be done for an hour or more. Start the next step after you've removed the bird from the roasting pan.
Step7
Pour all the fat and other liquid from the roasting pan into a bowl. Save the pan - it will have browned bits on the bottom, which you'll want for your gravy. Set aside the poured-off liquid in the bowl until the fat rises to the top.
Step8
Skim the fat off the surface and discard, except for about 4 tbsp. Return these to the pan. Discard the remainder of what's in the bowl.
Step9
Place the roasting pan over medium heat and whisk in the flour.
Step10
Cook a few minutes, whisking constantly, until the flour is a nice golden brown color.
Step11
Remove the pan from the burner and slowly add the reserved turkey broth and sherry, stirring constantly.
Step12
Put the pan back on the burner and adjust the heat so that the mixture boils very gently. Stir constantly until the gravy thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
Step13
Season with salt and pepper, pour into a gravy boat and serve.
Comments
Anonymous said
on 2/23/2006 I know it sounds strange, but add a little bit of bakers chocolate. It creates an amazing depth of flavor.
Anonymous said
on 12/28/2005 A nice addition to the gravy is to chop up the giblets and stir them in.
Anonymous said
on 12/28/2005 I don't know if you have this in America, but here we have a product called Parisian Essence. It will color your gravy beautifully, without adding flavor.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 If your turkey gravy is looking a little pale, sprinkle a few granules of instant coffee in and stir. It will give it a nice golden color without affecting the taste.