Whatever floats your gravy boat

What would Thanksgiving be without gravy?

At this point I’m hoping that your taste buds are hopping over the foods that we’ve already talked about. But three of the (turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes) are so much better with gravy. I don’t mean just a little better. I mean to the moon and back better.

While you can buy gravy in a jar or can, it’s just not the same as making your own turkey gravy. You’ve already spent time making that turkey, and you have a pan full of drippings. And bits of turkey. And that specially carmelized deliciousness that is stuck to the pan. It’s almost a crime to let that go to waste.

I’ve got two basic recipes that I use for home made gravy. One uses the organs that you fished out of the turkey when you were cleaning it out. If you’re like me, that bag of organs was extracted in the wee hours of the morning. It wasn’t exactly the sort of thing that I wanted to see first thing on a holiday morning. But I’m one who prefers to use as much of the bird as possible, so I tend to save the bag. This recipe is a great opportunity to put the organs to good use. Frankly, the only other use I’ve seen for them is to cook them and put them into the dressing. But that means actually cooking the contents of that slimy bag first thing in the morning. If you thought the sight of the organs was bad, try frying them up at 6:00am. At least you won’t feel like eating breakfast afterwards!

The other recipe is a simpler version that not only doesn’t use the organ meat, but uses a smaller amount of the drippings. It’s a bit faster, so if time is an issue I’d use this recipe.

I also use the time-saving and mess-saving technique of making the gravy in the roasting pan. I don’t really see any need to get another pot dirty, and the roasting pan is already warm. It’s one less thing to wash!

One of the most important (and healthiest) things to do when making your own gravy is to ensure that you’re reserving the drippings without all the grease (which is really just liquified fat…appetizing, eh?).

There are two methods that I’ve used successfully to separate the fat from the drippings. In method one, you pour the combines fat and drippings into a measuring cup of small bowl. The smaller and taller the better. Just be sure not to overfill it…we are talking grease here, so spilling it on the counter/cabinets/floor just add to the cleanup.

After you have filled the container, let the drippings and fat separate. Fortunately, the good stuff will migrate towards the bottom and the fat will float on top. When they’re sufficiently separated, use a ladle to skim off the fat (I usually spoon mine into a leftover pickle jar, or something similar).

Eventually you’ve got the icky, fatty grease removed and have the yummy drippings ready for action. Pour the drippings back into the roasting pan. I know a lot of cooks who put the roasting pan on one or two burners and turn the burners on low for this step. That does keep things hotter.

Then you simply mix all the other ingredients in the recipe, pour the homemade gravy into a gravy boat (hopefully you caught that pun in the title, but if you didn’t you get it now…right?), and the gravy floats off to the table.

The other method for fat-dripping separation involves a specialized piece of equipment. I’ve use this Gravy Oil Fat Separator for lots of tasks, but separating the fat and drippings from a turkey pan is it’s most common job. This little guy was a gift some years back, and I use it every time I roast any sort of fatty poultry or meat. If you’re looking for a cool gift for somebody, this is an inexpensive solution that is really handy!

Either way that you separate the drippings and the fat, you’re going to end up with a really outstanding flavor addition to the table.