Homemade Turkey Gravy is so easy to make and absolutely delicious, especially when you use the leftover drippings from your Thanksgiving turkey. You can embrace the giblets stored inside your turkey and use the them to make a delicious giblet gravy, or leave them out if you want a turkey gravy recipe without giblets in it.
We had TWO turkeys at Thanksgiving dinner when I was growing up. My mom usually hosted and we'd always have at least 30-50 people there. Mom would make one turkey and my Grandma would make the other, and they would both use the turkey drippings to make the best homemade turkey gravy!
They say the star of Thanksgiving is the turkey, but I'd argue that the Turkey Gravy and cranberry relish really make or break the meal! I'm all about “sauces” and dips and those two things are top favorites on my entire Thanksgiving plate.
I love to make a big well in my homemade mashed potatoes for the gravy, I love it over my Turkey, and I love it lightly drizzled on stuffing. Everyone always loves a smear of leftover gravy and cranberry sauce on our turkey sandwiches the next day, too.
How to make turkey gravy:
Homemade gravy is so easy and delicious. Below are steps for making turkey gravy with or without the giblets.
What are giblets?
When you buy a turkey (or chicken), you will find the neck, heart, liver, and gizzards from the bird stored inside its cavity. Before cooking your turkey, you should remove the giblets and set them aside. You can use the turkey giblets to make the best homemade turkey giblet gravy!
What are drippings?
Drippings are what's left in the roasting pan after cooking the turkey. This includes fat that has melted and any bits of meat that have fallen off.
How to make turkey gravy with drippings and giblets:
When you remove your giblets from the turkey, rinse them with cold water and store them in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.
When you are ready to make your giblet gravy, place all of the neck, heart, liver, and gizzards of the turkey in a sauce pan, cover them with water and bring it to a boil. Simmer the giblets 1 hour.
Remove the giblets, save the water, and chop the giblets into small pieces.
When you have taken your turkey out of the oven, pour the drippings into a bowl. Allow the fat to separate and skim it from the top of the drippings.
Add about one cup of the drippings to the roasting pan or a sauce pan. Whisk in about ½ cup of flour and make a roux by allowing it to turn to a golden brown color. Add broth and more drippings, stirring until it thickened, and add the giblet meat. Season the gravy with salt and pepper and make sure to taste it to be sure it has the flavor you are looking for!
How to make turkey gravy without giblets:
To make turkey gravy without giblets, throw the giblets from the turkey away and make turkey gravy using the drippings from the pan.
Storing and Making Ahead of Time:
To store: Store leftover gravy in a sealed container for 2-3 days.
To Make Ahead: Make the gravy as directed. Allow it to cool and store it, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. To reheat, pour it into a saucepan and add a couple tablespoons of chicken broth or water to thin it (use your best judgement for how thin/thick you like it). Heat it on medium low heat until warmed through (about 15 minutes).
DON’T MISS my other popular THANKSGIVING Recipes:
- Best Homemade Rolls
- Easy, No-Fuss Thanksgiving Turkey
- Perfect Mashed Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Souffle
- Triple Berry Pie
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Recipe
Turkey Gravy
Equipment
Ingredients
- drippings from roasted turkey
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or turkey or vegetable broth)
- salt and pepper , to taste
- giblets and neck of uncooked turkey , optional
Instructions
- Place the neck, heart, liver, and gizzards of the turkey inside a medium size sauce pan. Cover the giblets completely with water and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is cooked through.
- Next, use a slotted spoon to remove the giblets from the water and set them aside. At this point you can decide to discard the liquid from the giblet water or save a little of it to use at the very end of making your gravy if you need to make the gravy thinner. Otherwise you don't need this liquid).
- Once the giblets have cooled, remove the livers and discard them (they add a really strong taste and flavor not many people like). Use your fingers to remove any meat from the turkey neck. Add the meat to the rest of the giblets and discard what's left of the neck. Then dice the giblets into small pieces and reserve them for the gravy.
- When you have taken your turkey out of the oven, pour the drippings (what’s left in the roasting pan after cooking the turkey. This includes fat that has melted and any bits of meat that have fallen off) from your turkey roasting pan into a large bowl. (Tip the pan away from your body and be careful not to burn your self)!
- Now let the drippings sit for a minute, allowing the fat to naturally separate from the rest of the drippings. You will notice that the fat will rise to the top, leaving the drippings and liquid on the bottom. Use a large spoon or ladle to skim (remove) most of the fat from the top of the the drippings.
- To make the gravy, use a large sauce pan and add 1 cup of drippings to the pan.
- Add ½ cup flour to the pan and whisk together until it makes a smooth paste. (At this point, you'll need to use a little of your own judgement. You want a pasty consistency. If yours seems a little greasy, add more flour).
- When you have found the right consistency, whisk the mixture slowly over the heat as it begins to brown. You are creating a roux.
- Once you get a nice golden brown color, add 4 cups of chicken broth and 1 additional cup of drippings.
- Allow the gravy to cook, whisking constantly for about 5 to 8 minutes, or until thickened. Then add the giblet meat.
- At this point, decide for yourself if you like the consistency of the gravy. If the gravy is too thick, add giblets broth or drippings liquid. If gravy is too thin, cook for about 10 minutes. If it's still thin, add a cornstarch slurry (mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and then add to the gravy). Continue heating until gravy thickens to desired consistency.
- Once your happy with the consistency of your gravy, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and enjoy!
- Store leftover gravy covered, in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
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Amazing gravey. Made it according to instructions (with giblets) and turned out wonderful. Plenty of gravey for everyone. Delicious. This will be our go to gravey.
This is the best turkey ever and it’s so easy! This will be the 3rd year in a row that I’ve made it. There’s no sense in looking for another recipe cause this one is THAT good! Such great step by instructions!
I used this gravy recipe and it turned out the BEST!
Can’t I just leave the fat and utilize it to make a more flavorful gravy?
Turkeys can be really fatty. In my horrible experience, if you leave most of the fat, you’ll get greasy and surprisingly weak and gross tasting gravy. I use a ratio of 1tb/1tb/1cup of fat/flour/liquid. Use the fat/flour as thickener and cook that for flavor, then slowly add drippings of broth while whisky. For a family of seven (with leftovers) I do 6Tb fat and 6Tb flour then 6 cups of drippings (supplemented with broth if needed).
This was really helpful for me, especially being my only second time cooking a turkey! This was the best and easiest recipe that I found and I’m really excited to make it for Thanksgiving. Making a turkey has always been a huge fear for me. I’ll let you know how it turns out! Keep your fingers crossed. Thanks again!
Hello! Excited to use this recipe this year! Any advice about using bone broth or stock instead of broth? Any chance it makes it even yummier? Thank you!
That would be fine!
Tastes delicious. Very easy to make. Thank you very much.
This is my new go-to recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey. I made the turkey and the gravy for our pre-Christmas dinner with the family and it was a hit! Very moist and full of flavor! Thank you so much!
Great gravy! I had only made sausage gravy before so I was apprehensive, but these instructions were clear. I followed the recipe exactly for the giblet-in version. This produced enough highly-flavored gravy for 8+ people on turkey, potatoes, and dressing.
I’m a senior citizen, but had never before made gravy or stuffing from scratch.
This recipe was fantastic! Both the gravy and stuffing got not only compliments but requests for multiple servings as well as carry-home boxes.
You can’t get a better review than that!
I’m confused about how you can make the gravy ahead of time, since the drippings won’t be available until the turkey is done.
What can I do without the drippings? Do I just mix 4 cups of chicken broth with 1/2 cup of flour ahead of time? Then on the day of, I reheat it with 2 cups of drippings?
Some people will make the turkey the day before to free the oven up for all the sides and everything everyone else brings. This makes for a less stressful day. So you could make the gravy the day before as well and just thin it out as you heat it up before serving.
Spencer – you need to let the bird rest for 30 to 40 minutes before carving. Remove the bird from your roasting pan and set it on a carving board. You may cover with foil if you wish. While turkey rests, you have time to get the drippings, finish your prep and make the gravy.
Probably too late now, but it sounded like she was suggesting to prep the giblets ahead of time by simmering and chopping. Just one less thing to do the day of!
You Must mix/cook flour with fat first. This makes a roux (thickening agent). If you don’t, horrible lumps will happen and your gravy will taste like raw flour. Always cook the roux first (will look sandy) then slowly add liquid while whisking. Works every time. If gravy needs a bit more flavor, you can add a chicken bullion cube or granules at the end in a pinch. Easy trick and won’t dilute your gravy.
I started cooking by helping my grandmother make the the graveyard in the late 50’s. My family always liked gravy to be “darkish” which was accomplished by adding a little Kitchen Bouquet Browning and Seasoning Sauce. I have also found that a little left over coffee can do the trick! God Bless!
In step 1 you say to boil the liver. But in step 3 you say to discard the liver. What’s the point of boiling it then?
You don’t need to boil it if you want to separate it from the pack first.
You boil it for the flavor.