Rick's Turkey Gravy

Here is the follow-up recipe for the super-rich turkey gravy I make for my Thanksgiving turkey and my garlic mashed potatoes.  The dark color and richness of this gravy comes from the pan drippings from the roasted turkey and from the turkey stock made from the trimmed bones and giblets.  I pan sear the bones and giblets in a Dutch oven to develop a deep brown fond (the tasty browned bits that form in the bottom of the pot) before adding water to the pot. This gravy is so delicious that you will want to sop it up with your bread or rolls so you don’t waste a single drop!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Bones, trimmed meat and giblets from the prepared turkey
3 Tbs olive oil
4 Cups water
Fresh ground pepper

***NO SALT is needed! The pan drippings from the turkey have enough salt from the brineing process!!!****

Heat a Dutch oven or heavy pot over high heat.  Pour in about 3 Tbs of olive oil.

Add the bones, meat and giblets from the prepared turkey.  Don’t touch or turn them for 3 to 5 minutes so they brown on the bottom!

Flip the meat and brown the other side.  Using tongs, move the pieces around to keep the fond from becoming burned.

When the bones and meat are well-browned, Pour in 4 cups of water and let simmer until reduced by 50%

When the turkey is done, use a baster to extract the pan juices from the roasting pan and add them to the stock pot and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain the stock through a wire mesh strainer to remove any bones and other nasty bits and return it to the sauce pot.

Make a slurry from 1/4 cup flour whisked into 1 cup cold water.

When the strained stock reaches a boil, pour in the slurry while whisking constantly to keep the resulting gravy from forming lumps.

The gravy will thicken almost immediately.  When it does, turn off the heat, pour into a serving bowl and then spoon it over your turkey or garlic mashed potatoes!  YUM!

Add some additional fresh ground pepper if you like, and again, because you brined the turkey and used the trimmings for the stock and the pan drippings, you really shouldn’t need any additional salt!  Enjoy!