Thanksgiving Gravy

When I was younger and started cooking the Thanksgiving meal, I was always afraid to make the gravy. The idea of drippings, lumps and thickening was just plain scary. I tried all kinds of short cuts until I found a recipe that made sense to me. One that I could follow, and I’m happy to say it worked. It was then that I realized I could make delicious gravy for Thanksgiving, and who doesn’t love the gravy?

  • 1⁄2 cup butter (1 stick)
  • 1 sweet onion like a Vidalia, finely chopped
  • 1⁄4 cup flour
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
  • Turkey drippings (defatted) plus chicken stock to make 2 cups, heated
  • 1 tablespoon Cognac or wine, optional

In a large sauté pan, cook the butter and onions over medium low heat for about 12 minutes until the onions are lightly browned. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and whisk it in. Add salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock mixture. Stirring frequently with a whisk, cook for 4-5 minutes until thickened. Add the Cognac or wine. Check seasoning and add salt if needed. Serve.

Note: For defatted turkey drippings.

After baking the turkey pour all drippings and juice from the baking pan into a bowl. Allow drippings to sit in the bowl for a few minutes until the fat has floated up and settled on top. Using a spoon skim the top of the drippings to remove the fat.