Turkey Giblet Gravy
How to make homemade giblet gravy is an easy Southern Thanksgiving recipe. Use your turkey drippings, giblet stock, and cooked giblets to make this old fashioned gravy truly from scratch. This will be your family's favorite gravy for holiday turkey and mashed potatoes!
Servings: 11 people
Calories: 179kcal
Ingredients
For the Giblet Stock
- 1 turkey neck, heart, and gizzard
- 1 bay leaf optional
- 1 medium onion sliced; optional
- 4 sprigs fresh herbs such as thyme, rosemary, sage or parsley (optional)
For the Gravy
- ½ cup turkey fat skimmed from the top of the turkey drippings
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup turkey drippings
- ½ cup giblet stock
- 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cooked turkey giblets and neck meat chopped
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth for thinning the gravy if needed
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. 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
- If the giblets aren't cooked enough, fry them in 2 tablespoons of butter for 5 minutes over medium heat. Dice the cooked heart and gizzard, and chop the turkey neck meat. Set aside.
Making the Roux
- Pour the turkey drippings into a medium bowl. (You should have 1½ cups if you roasted a 14-pound turkey and poured two cups of chicken stock into the pan when roasting.) 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 ½ cup.
- Gradually add the flour to the turkey drippings, 1 tablespoon at a time, while whisking. (You will want a paste that isn't too greasy.) Once you're happy with the consistency of the roux, cook it while whisking for 4 minutes, or until it is browned. For a darker gravy, cook the roux longer.
Finishing the Gravy
- Gradually pour in the ½ cup of giblet stock into the roux while whisking constantly until smooth. Continue adding the 1 cup of turkey drippings to get the gravy to the right consistency.
- Mix in two tablespoons of butter and ½ cup of chopped, cooked giblet and neck meat. Simmer for 3 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to thicken the gravy.
- Add a bit more black pepper, roughly ¼ teaspoon. If needed, add low sodium chicken stock or filtered water to thin out the gravy. Taste and adjust seasonings (salt, black pepper, sage, rosemary, thyme, or butter) if desired.
- Pour into a gravy boat and enjoy with roasted turkey and other side dishes.
Notes
- This recipe makes approximately 2⅔ cups of gravy.
- Use giblet stock, filtered water, or low sodium chicken broth to thin your gravy.
- Use bacon grease to sauté the celery, onion, carrots if you want a different fat base.
- Purée the cooked giblets in a food processor or blender with some giblet stock or chicken broth to change the texture.
- Add warm liquid (stock) to the roux; it will help it incorporate better with fewer lumps.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.25cup | Calories: 179kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 111mg | Potassium: 132mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 4422IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 2mg
