Giblet gravy is served at many Thanksgiving dinners and there is a good reason for it. It’s special. It takes longer to make then regular gravy, but its worth it.
Our version of giblet gravy has you starting off with making your giblet stock with the heart, gizzard and neck of the turkey. If you want to add more flavor to your giblet stock, add a sliced onion, one bay leaf, and a few sprigs of fresh spices like thyme, parsley, rosemary, or sage. If you are short on supplies or time, just reserve the giblet water.
Next add your turkey fat, turkey drippings, giblet stock, chicken stock and your cooked, chopped giblets and your taste buds will bring you back in time to Thanksgivings of the past.
Try our giblet gravy on our buttermilk whipped potatoes and our sliced roasted turkey recipes. For a Thanksgiving spread, make our tangy cranberry sauce, white balsamic caramelized onions, and fluffy buttermilk biscuits to go with your turkey and potatoes.
Giblet Gravy
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Prep Time: 30 minutes -
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
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Total Time: 2 hours
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Yield: 2 1/2 cups
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Pin RecipeIngredients
For the Giblet Stock
- turkey neck, heart and gizzard
- bay leaf, optional
- 1 medium onion sliced, optional
- 4 sprigs of fresh herbs: thyme, rosemary, sage or parsley, optional
For the Gravy
- 1/2 cup turkey fat, skimmed from the top of from the turkey drippings
- 1 1/4 cup turkey drippings, reserve extra for thinning
- 1/2 cup giblet stock, reserve extra for thinning
- 6 Tablespoons butter
- 9 Tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup of chopped cooked giblets and neck meat
- pepper to taste
Instructions
Making the Giblet Stock
- Rinse the heart, gizzard and turkey neck.
- Place in a medium sized saucepan and cover with 2 cups of filtered water.
- Optional: add the sliced onion, bay leaf and three or four sprigs of fresh spices
- Bring to a boil then simmer for one hour.
Finishing the Meat
- Chop the cooked giblets (heart and gizzard) and the turkey neck meat very small.
- If the giblets aren’t cooked enough, fry them in 2 Tbsp of butter for 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Put them in a small bowl to use later.
Making the Roux
- Pour the turkey drippings into a medium bowl. You should have 3 cups. Place the cooked turkey on a cutting board.
- Separate the fat from the turkey drippings by letting it sit for a while. The fat will rise to the top.
- Put the fat into a medium saucepan over medium heat. If there isn’t enough turkey fat from your cooked turkey, add butter until you have 1/2 cup.
- Gradually add your flour to your turkey drippings 1 Tbsp at a time while whisking. You will want a paste that isn’t too greasy. Once you’re happy with the consistency of your roux, cook it while whisking for 4 minutes or until your roux is a brownish color. If you want a darker gravy, cook your roux longer.
Finishing the Gravy
- Gradually pour your 1 1/4 cup of turkey drippings into the roux while whisking constantly until smooth. Continue adding 1/2 cup of the giblet stock to get the gravy to the right consistency. It’s a good idea to reserve 1/2 cup turkey drippings in case you need to thin your gravy later.
- Add two tablespoons of butter and stir.
- Next, stir in your 1/2 cup of chopped, cooked giblet and turkey neck meat.
- Do a few grinds of black pepper over the gravy.
- Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- If needed, add more turkey drippings, giblet stock, or filtered water to thin out your gravy.
- When done, stir well, then pour into a gravy boat.
Notes
Here are some gravy tips:
Use chicken stock with low sodium so your gravy doesn’t taste too salty.
Lumpy: use a sieve to strain
Too thick: add giblet broth, turkey drippings broth, chicken broth or filtered water
Too pale: cook roux longer
Too thin: add equal amounts of flour and water mixed in a separate bowl, then add to the gravy