In Texas, the piece de resistance to the Thanksgiving meal is the giblet gravy. In our house, when mom or my cousins are consumed with making the turkey, dressing and everything else, I step in to make the gravy. It’s a nice delegation of labor because the gravy is made at the very end and it gives your loved ones a few minutes to decompress.
The key to making giblet gravy is to take your time. Stir everything in, let the flour cook, add the chicken stock and just let it percolate. Stir. As it cooks, the gravy will thicken. Just sip on your glass of wine and watch the bubbling going on in the pan. This recipe is part of our complete guide to making a turkey dinner.
Read our full story on how Texans make gravy, The Art of Making Gravy.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup drippings from roasting pan that have been skimmed of fat
- 1 cup chicken broth
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon dry Sherry (not cooking sherry)
- 1 to 1-1/2 cups turkey giblets (chopped pieces of cooked liver and neck)
Instructions
- Over medium-low heat, melt the butter in a large saucepan until it is bubbly, sprinkle in the flour and stir quickly for a minute or so to cook the flour.
- Slowly stir in the turkey drippings and chicken stock, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the gravy is smooth and thickened. (Note about lumps: Lumps are nothing to be embarrassed about. They happen. If you’ve got some lumps and want to get rid of them, strain the gravy nowbecause you won’t be able to after you add the giblets.)
- Reduce heat to low, and check the seasonings.
- Add salt and pepper only if you think it is necessary.
- Some people (me) like to add a tablespoon or so of sherry at this point. It adds a wonderful, mellow flavor. Just use regular dry sherry — not sweet sherry, and definitely not cooking sherry. Add the giblets and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Giblet Gravy Tips:
The Giblets: For giblet gravy, I use just the liver and pieces off the neck. (I give the gizzard to the cat, and my husband eats the heart.) I always cook the neck with the turkey — tuck it down in a corner of the roasting pan. You can cook the liver the same way. Submerge it in the broth in the roasting pan about 30 minutes before you expect the turkey to be done. Or you can put it in a small saucepan, cover with a cup or so of lightly salted water and simmer it for 30 minutes. Since burner space is at a premium when preparing a holiday meal, I usually opt for the cook-it-with-the-turkey method.
For the sherry, use extra dry sherry. (There’s a whole variety of sherries so make sure.). Major grocery stores, like Central Market, typically section off a spot for the cooking wines, like extra dry sherry, madeira, vermouths.
