Make-Ahead Gravy Recipe (2024)

When you say "stock" what do you mean? Can you use store bought chicken stock?

After reheating the gravy, consider transferring it to a thermos until you’re ready to serve. This will free-up your stove, tidy up your kitchen, and keep the gravy piping hot. This also makes it easier to replenish the gravy boat.

When scraping the turkey pan, deglaze it with some white wine and then add it to the gravy.

If you don’t want to strain the gravy but don’t want large pieces of onion, try this technique I learned from my Eritrean foster-daughter. Sweat the onions down in a hot pan with NO FAT. They will release all of their water. Once they have begun to brown, add the butter and proceed with the recipe as written. The onions will ‘melt’ into the gravy and thicken it somewhat.

I make turkey stock in advance from turkey parts (thighs and wings) that I buy separately. I refrigerate the stock and when it has cooled, I scrape off the fat from the top and add it to the butter to make the gravy. I know: it's fat fat fat. But hey, it's Thanksgiving.

What is “rich” stock?

We browned the flour first. Added a lovely rich color to the gravy. An old mother in law tip.

I did this with the drippings of a roast chicken several days before Thanksgiving, then reheated it and added some turkey drippings right before the meal.

Two words, onion people: IMMERSION BLENDER.

Sometimes you want gravy but you don't have a roast handy with real drippings and homemade stock. This is a good substitute, way better than processed store bought. I used good quality boxed unsalted chicken bone broth and finished with dollop of beef Better Than Bullion for color and added flavor. Used a bit of white wine too.

Turned out perfectly. Wish I had thought about make ahead gravy years ago as it would have saved me much dinner party stress. We did strain the gravy after reheating to remove the onions as we prefer gravy to be perfectly smooth.

Very good results. Next time I'll avoid adding any salt to this until the pan drippings are in: I did Sam Sifton's turkey, which is heavily salted, and the pan drippings had more than enough seasoning for the gravy.

I make turkey stock in advance from turkey parts (thighs and wings) that I buy separately. I refrigerate the stock and when it has cooled, I scrape off the fat from the top and add it to the butter to make the gravy

I agree on the arrowroot. Best thickener, and makes for a smoother gravy (or roux or what have you) than wheat flour.

This has been THE most helpful tip EVER!! We finally have plenty of fantastic gravy at Thanksgiving and Christmas with no stress. I also use a little white wine.

wonderful! so easy! so darn good!!

This gravy, by itself is kind of blah, but mixed with the turkey drippings, it's sublime. I make it a couple of days ahead and then warm it on the big day, place a strainer on top of the pot and then pour the turkey drippings over the strainer. You don't need to do anything more!

Made 2 days before Thanksgiving. I spatchco*ck the turkey, so I cooked the backbone to be the base of the gravy. Warmed up great and was silky smooth for thanksgiving’s dinner.

I did not have good success with this recipe. It was too buttery and didn’t taste like gravy. I tried some of the suggestions in the other notes but sadly this could not be saved

If you don’t have turkey/chicken bits to add, add some soy sauce or else it will be super bland

I made this exactly as in the recipe. it tasted awful. Way too much butter. No depth.

I have made this before and it does the job. In 2023 I made Julia Turschen’s make ahead gravy and it was good. Caroline likes it put through a sieve.

I'm an experienced cook, but I've never made a good gravy; this was easy and absolutely delicious. I used 4 cups of high-quality chicken stock from my butcher, Schaller and Weber, and one cup of de-fatted turkey drippings. . I added a little bit of soy sauce and Dijon mustard as recommended by a different chef.. The dressing was a little bit lumpy, so I used a handheld blender to smooth it out. Finally, it tasted salty, so I added champagne vinegar little by little until the salt was reduced.

This is a perfect solution and should be made the day before. The "base" gravy using Whole Foods or other low-sodium stock is bland and much too light colored - but - if you use a baster to add pan drippings after reheating, you get perfect control of the color and seasoning. Final step is to push through a sieve to remove the onions and any remaining lumps. This year it came out PERFECT!

This was the best gravy I've ever made! While the turkey was in the oven, I made stock from the neck (I don't like giblets) and could still extract drippings from the roasting bird. I usually make the gravy for my husband and guests, but this time, I was pouring it on, too!

The recipe doesn't make clear that giblets should be cooked separately before adding them to the gravy. Luckily I learned that by looking at other recipes, but Bittman really should have clarified that for those of us who don't cook turkey regularly.

Be sure to let the flour mixture brown. Nutty.

This is a great base. Add some sage and a hint of Madeira to round out the flavors.

I didn’t have any onions, stock, or turkey trimmings, so I used turnips, listerine, and elk backstrap. This tasted TERRIBLE. Would not recommend.

Added misoTook a very long time to brown when I added the flour Used margarine Overall tasty for make ahead Nov 2023