Whenever I am making Thanksgiving Dinner, my biggest worry is "What if I don't have good drippings to make gravy?" I have been known to buy several bottles of gravy to have on hand 'just in case'. Last year, I saw this idea in a magazine. It is a recipe for make-ahead turkey gravy that you can make even months ahead if you want and then freeze it until Thanksgiving. It took all the worry out of the day for me. It calls for turkey wings, which I found at Walmart last year, but couldn't find anywhere this year, so I used turkey drumsticks instead and it worked great-giving us lots of cooked turkey to use for other recipes. I made it today and we had an old fav for dinner tonight from our newlywed years - turkey and gravy over toast. Great memories!
This is the picture of the turkey before it goes in the oven
Make Ahead Turkey Gravy
Makes about 4-5 cups of gravy
Ingredients
• 6 turkey wings (or drumsticks)
• 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
• 1 cup water
• 2 quarts chicken broth, divided
• 3/4 cup chopped carrot
1 stalk of celery chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Arrange a single layer of turkey wings in a large roasting pan. Scatter the onions over the top of the wings. Roast in the preheated oven for 1-1/4 hours or until wings are browned.
2. Place browned wings and onions in a 5 quart stockpot. Add water to roasting pan and stir, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour the water from the pan into the stockpot. Stir in 6 cups broth, carrot, celery and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 1-1/2 hours.
3. Remove wings from the pot and place on a cutting board. When the wings are cool, pull off the skin and meat. Discard the skin and save the meat for another use. Strain contents of stockpot through a large strainer into a 3 quart saucepan. Press on the vegetables to extract any remaining liquid. Discard the vegetables and skim the fat off the liquid. Bring the contents of the pot to a gentle boil.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk flour into the remaining 2 cups chicken broth until smooth. Gradually whisk the flour mixture into the simmering turkey broth; simmer 3-4 minutes or until the gravy has thickened. Stir in the butter and pepper. Serve immediately or pour into containers and refrigerate or freeze.
This is the picture of the turkey before it goes in the oven
Make Ahead Turkey Gravy
Makes about 4-5 cups of gravy
Ingredients
• 6 turkey wings (or drumsticks)
• 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
• 1 cup water
• 2 quarts chicken broth, divided
• 3/4 cup chopped carrot
1 stalk of celery chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Arrange a single layer of turkey wings in a large roasting pan. Scatter the onions over the top of the wings. Roast in the preheated oven for 1-1/4 hours or until wings are browned.
2. Place browned wings and onions in a 5 quart stockpot. Add water to roasting pan and stir, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour the water from the pan into the stockpot. Stir in 6 cups broth, carrot, celery and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 1-1/2 hours.
3. Remove wings from the pot and place on a cutting board. When the wings are cool, pull off the skin and meat. Discard the skin and save the meat for another use. Strain contents of stockpot through a large strainer into a 3 quart saucepan. Press on the vegetables to extract any remaining liquid. Discard the vegetables and skim the fat off the liquid. Bring the contents of the pot to a gentle boil.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk flour into the remaining 2 cups chicken broth until smooth. Gradually whisk the flour mixture into the simmering turkey broth; simmer 3-4 minutes or until the gravy has thickened. Stir in the butter and pepper. Serve immediately or pour into containers and refrigerate or freeze.
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