Make Ahead Turkey Gravy for one less thing to stress about on Thanksgiving Day.

We love to make gravy ahead of time for Thanksgiving. If your turkey is the last thing that everyone is waiting on, THE LAST THING you want is for everyone to wait for you to make the gravy. You can still make gravy with drippings from the turkey, but it’s nice to have some gravy ready to go when everyone is ready to eat. You can make gravy 1-2 days ahead. Extra gravy is always a good idea, especially for Thanksgiving leftovers!

We are going to walk you through making a simple roasted turkey stock to make gravy with. If you are cooking the turkey this year, hang onto the turkey neck and giblets to roast in the oven. We are not making giblet gravy, just regular gravy made with a simple roux.

How to make a Roux Gravy:

It’s easy to make gravy once you understand the simple ratio needed to make gravy. To make gravy from a roux, here is the ratio needed for 1 cup of gravy:

2 tablespoons fat (butter or the fat from the drippings)
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup liquid

For a more thicker gravy:

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup flour
8 cups liquid (2 quarts)

For a more thinner gravy:

12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 stick butter)
12 tablespoons flour
8 cups liquid (2 quarts)

How much gravy do I need per person?

It’s a good rule to have about 1/2 cup of gravy per person. This recipe serves 16 people. You can increase it if you have more people coming, but if you have less people coming, you can freeze the extra or just keep it for leftovers for the next few days.

What you need to make Roasted Turkey Stock:

turkey neck and or other turkey parts (minus the liver)
1 medium onion, quartered
1-2 chopped carrots
2 stalks celery

Ingredients to make Gravy:

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup all-purpose flour
8 cups liquid (homemade turkey stock or store bought)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, more to taste

How to make Roasted Turkey stock for Gravy:

ROAST: For added richness roast the turkey neck (and giblets) this step is optional if you have these turkey parts to use. If not…you can do one of these options: 1- you can buy turkey wings separately to roast, 2-Use Better than Bouillon Turkey Base or 3- use pre made stock.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Cover a sheet pan with aluminum foil for easy clean up.
Place turkey neck and other turkey parts on the pan (minus the turkey liver). Place the carrots, onions and celery onto the pan around the turkey parts.
Roast at 400 for 1 hour. Making sure the parts are browned on top.
When done roasting move the turkey parts and the cooked carrots, onions and celery to a large stock pot.
Scrape all browned turkey bits off the pan into the pot.
Add 6 cups chicken or turkey broth or stock (or 6 cups water and 6 teaspoons turkey base like Better than Bouillon) Short Cut: we also love this super easy recipe for Better Than Bouillon Gravy
Simmer uncovered for about 1 hour.
Strain the liquid from the solid vegetables and turkey parts. Reserve the liquid and discard the turkey parts and the vegetables.
Move all the liquid to a bowl and refrigerate overnight to allow the fat to separate from the liquid. OR If you are short on time you can use a fat like butter.
Separator Measuring Cup to separate the fat from the liquid. This is a lot faster option. If you want, you can freeze the stock at this point and make the gravy later.

How to Make Gravy:

Melt the butter or fat in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat.
Whisk the flour into the fat.
Whisk in 1/2 cup turkey stock until smooth. Whisk in another half cup. Repeat until all drippings/liquid is used. (You can use store bought stock or broth or Turkey Base from Better than Bouillon at this point if you do not have homemade turkey stock from the drippings).
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1 minute. Season to taste as desired: add salt, pepper, and seasonings.
As you pour your gravy to a serving dish, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve to keep it smooth and free of lumps. Serve warm.

Can I freeze gravy?

Yes, you can just freeze the gravy and you can freeze just the homemade turkey stock to make the gravy recipe when you are ready.
To freeze the gravy: Let it cool and freeze in ziplock bags. To reheat frozen gravy, let the gravy thaw in the fridge overnight.
If you are making a turkey on the day you plan to serve this gravy, add the fat-skimmed pan drippings to the gravy…to make your gravy go further.

How long does gravy keep in the fridge?

Gravy will keep for 3-5 days in the fridge.

Make Ahead Roasted Turkey Gravy

How to make ahead simple roasted turkey gravy.

Cuisine American

Servings 16 people

Author Kami | NoBiggie.net

Ingredients

For the Turkey Stock:

turkey neck and giblets minus the liver
1 medium onion quartered
1-2 carrots peeled and chopped into large chunks
2 stalks celery chopped into large chunks

For the Turkey Gravy:

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup all-purpose flour
8 cups liquid turkey stock (if made from drippings) + more turkey/ chicken stock if needed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper more to taste

Instructions

To Make the Roasted Turkey Stock:

Preheat oven to 400 .Cover a sheet pan with aluminum foil for easy clean up.
Place turkey neck and other turkey parts on the pan (minus the turkey liver). Place the carrots, onions and celery onto the pan around the turkey parts.
Roast at 400 for 1 hour. Making sure the turkey neck has browned on top.
When done roasting move the turkey parts and the cooked carrots, onions and celery to a large stock pot.
Scrape all browned turkey bits into the pot.
Add 8 cups turkey/ chicken stock (or 8 cups water and 8 teaspoons turkey base like: Better than Bouillon)
Simmer uncovered for about 1 hour.
Strain the liquid from the solid vegetables and turkey parts. Reserve the liquid and discard the turkey parts and the vegetables.
Move all the liquid to a bowl and refrigerate overnight to allow the fat to separate from the liquid. OR If you are short on time you can use a Fat Separator Measuring Cup to separate the fat from the liquid. This is a lot faster option. You can freeze the stock at this point and make the gravy later.

To Make The Gravy:

Melt the butter or reserved fat in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat.
Whisk the flour into the fat.
Whisk in 1/2 cup drippings liquid until smooth. Whisk in another half cup. Repeat until all drippings/liquid is used. (You can use store bought stock or broth OR Turkey Base from Better than Bouillon at this point if you do not have turkey drippings).
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1 minute. Season to taste as desired: add salt, pepper, and seasonings.
Strain the gravy to keep it free of lumps as you pour it into your serving dish or gravy boat. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes

To Freeze the Gravy: Let cool and freeze in ziplock bags.

To Reheat frozen gravy: Let the gravy thaw in the fridge overnight.
If you are making a turkey on the day you plan to serve this gravy, add the fat-skimmed pan drippings to the gravy!

If you don't make your own turkey stock, you can use Turkey/ Chicken broth in this recipe. We like Better Than Bouillon Turkey Base ( 1 teaspoon turkey flavor base + 1 cup water = 1 cup broth) It adds a rich flavor and is good for making a very turkey-tasting gravy.
*Optional add 1 teaspoon Soy Sauce right before serving for added rich flavor.
You can use fat from the drippings or you can use butter to make the roux.

Making This Recipe? Tag us on Instagram: @NoBiggie using the hashtag #NoBiggieRecipes, so we can see what you are making in the kitchen!

Make Ahead Turkey Gravy