Easy Turkey Gravy Recipe For Your Holiday Dinner (2024)

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Easy Turkey Gravy Recipe – You’re done cooking the turkey now let’s make this easy turkey gravy recipe! This simple gravy recipe tastes amazing and is so quick to make.

You’ve been working hard all day to make a great holiday dinner and now it’s time for the gravy.

If this is the first time you’re hosting a holiday dinner you might be wondering “How do you make homemade turkey gravy?”

But don’t worry making a delicious homemade turkey gravy is really easy!

There are many ways to make turkey gravy but my favorite is the simple, old-fashioned gravy that I grew up enjoying. It’s just so simple to make on a busy Thanksgiving or Christmas day.

This easy turkey gravy recipe is made just before serving using the pan drippings and a flour and butter mixture called a roux.

More Holiday Recipes You’ll Love:

• Easy Garlic Green Beans
• Easy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Classic Cranberry Sauce
• Sausage And Herb Thanksgiving Stuffing
• Sweet Potato Casserole With Pecan Topping
• How To Cook A Turkey From Frozen

How To Get More Turkey Drippings

It all starts with the drippings from your cooked turkey and since you’ve taken care to season the turkey well it will give a rich flavor that you can only get from homemade gravy.

To get started, remove your turkey from the roasting pan and set it aside to rest before carving. Then pour off any liquid in the roasting pan and set it aside.

If your roasting pan doesn’t have much liquid inside use this method of deglazing the pan first.

Place the roaster over two stove burners, and with it on medium heat pour in 1 cup of turkey or chicken broth.

Keep stirring to get all the bits up off the bottom of the pan.

Then pour all the pan drippings into a measuring up and place it into the fridge or freezer. It will take about 30 minutes for the fat to rise to the top and harden.

This step makes it very easy to just skim the fat off the top of the drippings before making gravy.

Tips For Making A Roux Thickened Gravy

• Roux is a simple ratio of equal parts fat to flour.
• You will want to cook the roux mixture until it has turned brown and smells nutty. This means the flour has been cooked and your gravy won’t taste “floury”. You can cook the roux until it’s a light to golden brown.
• Gravy made from a roux continues to thicken as it cools, remember this while your cooking it.
• It’s much easier to thin out a gravy that is to thick than it is to thicken a runny gravy. So start with less liquid and slowly add more until your gravy is the thickness you like.

Homemade Turkey Gravy Recipe Tips

When making your roux you can use either turkey fat skimmings or butter. Both work great but I prefer to use butter as I like the richer taste it gives to the gravy more.

You can also mix different types of fat together to make your roux gravy. If you don’t have enough turkey fat then just add the difference in butter.

If you don’t have a lot of turkey drippings after roasting your turkey you can use turkey stock instead. Even chicken stock works in a pinch.

For a really smooth gravy strain the pan drippings before you add them to the gravy.

How Long Does Turkey Gravy Keep For?

Getting your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner on the table can be stressful sometimes. After all, it’s not every day that we are trying to cook such a big meal for friends and family.

To keep things simple you can make as much ahead of time as possible.

If your making turkey gravy ahead of time simply follow this same method but you can roast turkey wings and drumsticks instead of a full turkey to get your pan drippings.

Thankfully this easy gravy recipe stores really well! You can keep the turkey gravy in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze it for 3 months.

When you are ready to use it, reheat it slowly over low heat while whisking occasionally to keep the gravy from separating.

How To Make An Easy Turkey Gravy

In a large skillet melt 1/2 cup of butter over medium heat. Then add 1 tablespoon of dried rosemary.

Cook for 1 minute stirring constantly.

Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of flour, whisking constantly until the butter and flour are well combined.

Continue cooking the roux (butter and flour mixture) until it has turned brown. This takes about 5 minutes.

Next, slowly whisk in the turkey drippings or turkey stock into the roux.

Make sure to just add a little at a time and stir well so that everything mixes well together and doesn’t clump.

Continue cooking the turkey gravy over medium heat, stirring constantly until it has thickened to your liking. This normally takes 5 to 10 minutes.

Taste your gravy and adjust the salt and pepper seasonings to your liking.

Wasn’t that easy? You just made your own easy homemade turkey gravy from scratch!