Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Basic Pan Gravy

This recipe will work with any pan drippings and can be made much more exciting by adding herbs, garlic, wine, port, or other seasonings, but for a turkey dinner I simply prefer this basic recipe. As you can see by the photo, I don't bother to strain out any bits that don't blend into the gravy. Those tasty little morsels add to the flavor even if they take away from the visual appeal.


Ingredients:
Pan drippings from a roasted turkey
2T flour
butter
chicken broth
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Roast the turkey and remove the bird from the pan. Drain off all the juice and fat and place in one of those wonderful cups that separates them, or scoop off the fat the hard way with a spoon. Place the roasting pan on a burner over low heat and add the flour and fat from the drippings to produce a roux by stirring them together until they slightly brown. Try to scrape the pan to get all the toasted bits off the bottom and into your roux.

Difficult as it may seem, if you don't have enough turkey fat to make the roux, add a pat or two of butter. After your roux is completed, add back the turkey juices and stir until smooth or whisk if you prefer. If your gravy is too thick, add in half of the chicken broth and raise the heat to medium until the gravy starts to simmer. Keep stirring or whisking and only add more chicken broth if it is still too thick. The more broth added the less your gravy will taste of turkey.

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