How Do You Make Turkey Gravy?

The basics are the meat juices from cooking the turkey, mixed into a paste with a spoonful of flour, and then whisked with stock, preferably made from turkey giblets. You can also add water or wine, but for me the best turkey gravy of all is Delia Smith's recipe - I make it every year and follow the instructions exactly.

If you click here www.deliaonline.com you will find the gravy instructions towards the end of the turkey recipe, with a link at the bottom of the page to the giblet stock recipe. Enjoy your gravy!

The best gravy I ever made was by total accident! I made a couple of pre-packaged powder mixes into gravy then added (in the blender) some of the stuffing, tiny bits of the turkey, or course the turkey pan drippings, and a tiny bit of mashed potatoes. The potatoes make it nice and creamy, the turkey and drippings give you tons of flavor and the stuffing just adds the final touch. It was great!

You can use granules, but they're not a patch on the real thing. If you do it the traditional way, you should first boil the turkey giblets in just enough water to cover them, plus a little seasoning, parsley and celery (this can be done the day before.) When boiled, strain and reserve the liquid. To make the gravy: skim off most of the fat from the roasting tin. Heat the juices, sprinkle with a tablespoon of flour and slowly whisk in. Then gradually add the giblet liquid, add a glass of red or white wine and boil for 5 minutes to reduce. For a thicker gravy, add a little more flour; if it gets too thick, top up with more wine or water. You can do this as soon as the turkey is cooked, and reheat gently just before serving. You always seem to need more gravy than you think, by the way, so it's worth adding more liquid than you might think you need.