Turkey gravy with drippings recipe

This turkey gravy with drippings is so easy to make. More importantly, it's the best thing to do with all those delicious, fragrant, and flavourful juices that come off your turkey while it's cooking.

Don't let them go to waste. Whatever turkey recipe you follow (and if you need inspiration, try our epic Gordon Ramsay turkey) you will have plenty of dripping to use. Gravy was originally just the cooking juices that came off spit-roasted meat as it was roasting. When sauce cooking came became trendy in seventeenth-century France, the recipes were refined, herbs, wine, and flour to thicken. The result was the addictive juice we recognise today.

Ingredients

• 700ml water
• giblets from roast turkey
• 1x small onion, chopped
• 1tsp mixed herbs
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 4tbsp fat sediment from roast turkey
• 2tbsp plain flour
• ¼ tsp garlic pepper
• ½ tsp onion salt (find it in the herb section at your local supermarket)

Method

1. Make the stock by filling a large saucepan with the water, giblets, onion, herbs and seasonings. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 45 mins. Strain the stock through a fine sieve.
2. To make the gravy, remove the meat from the roasting tin and strain off all except 4tbsp of the fat sediment.
3. Place the tin over a low heat and stir in the flour. Cook the flour gently until it is light brown in colour. Blend in the garlic pepper, onion salt and 600ml of the strained giblet stock. Simmer for 2-3 mins.

Top tips for making turkey gravy with drippings

White wine and a couple of bay leaves will add more depth to a turkey gravy. You add a bottle of your favourite white wine, along with the bay to the bottom of the roasting pan before cooking. As the turkey roasts, baste with the wine and juices and use this as the base for your gravy - it will also give extra flavour to the bird. Alternatively, add a large glass of white wine to the gravy just before the giblet stock. Let it sizzle a little before you add the stock. If you only have red wine, this is fine for taste, but you might find it colours your gravy a slightly strange purplish colour.

How do you thicken turkey gravy?

If you've made your gravy a little too thin, don't panic. In a small bowl, mix together 3 to 4 tablespoons of cornstarch or plain flower into a small amount of water to form a paste. You don't need to worry about the taste as neither the cornstarch nor flour will do anything to the flavour of the gravy. Slowly and gradually add the paste to the gravy, a little at a time, and whisk it until you have the thickness you desire.

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