Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Gfgd420 t1_ixyr8cf wrote

Take like 1/4 cup of the drippings, add equal amount of flour and cook on the stove top over mediumish heat. Whisk really really well while adding the flour. Stir often and cook it until it gets smooth and starts to bubble and darken. Add around 2 cups of broth/drippings, stir well, heat to a boil and cook for another minute or two. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Make sure to taste before seasoning, it might not need much salt. Don't be shy with the pepper.

14

drgolovacroxby t1_ixyuuux wrote

To piggyback on this, anyone who cooks regularly should know how to make a roux. It's the base of most thick sauces. It's basically equal parts fat and flour, and you can use it in a lot of ways.

7

davesoverhere t1_ixyz5lq wrote

Make sure you start things out cold. If you’re doing this last minute, mix the flour and cold water together into a paste first. Otherwise, you’ll have big lumps of flour.

1

Daddict t1_ixz1iyo wrote

You shouldn't need water...

You make a roux with the drippings and flour, no water at all. The best way to make an amazing gravy is to flavor the drippings. Cut up a bunch of onions, parsnips, carrots, celery and done garlic, all of that goes in the roasting pan under the turkey. Then put a cup or so of broth in there, that will keep the drippings from burning off.

At the end, just filter out the cooked veggies (they're going to be overcooked and useless, I just toss them) and let the liquid drippings sit for 15-30 minutes, fat will rise and you can skim it off. Measure it out and mix it up in a sauce pan with equal amounts flour over medium heat. Stir and cook for 5-10 minutes, then mix it into the remaining drippings and another couple of cups of broth(I measure with my heart here). Heat it up to around 170-180 and it should thicken, add more broth if it's too thick.

Season with a little salt and a lotta pepper.

No water needed at any point.

3

davesoverhere t1_ixz32ix wrote

My point was that if you are rushing and dump the flour into the hot drippings, it will clump. Rookies may not know this. To avoid the clumps, either make a slurry by mixing the flour and cold water, or sprinkle the flour while whisking.
Of course with your version the drippings have cooled so they won’t have the problem.

2

Daddict t1_ixz3g1l wrote

But you can absolutely use flour in hot drippings. Hot water, no... but hot fat? Definitely. In fact that's exactly how you should do it.

4

davesoverhere t1_ixz50d6 wrote

Yes, but the grandparent post asked how to make a gravy. I was just providing tip on how to avoid some common mistakes. I was assuming the initial poster in this thread could make pbj and heat some Campbells, not the discuss subtitles of rouxs and whether to wet or dry brine the turkey.

4

vertigo72 t1_ixz37hn wrote

This works for a cornstarch and water slurry, which is a good thickening agent for sauces, soups, stews, etc. But it is not a roux and that's not how one is made.

2

GreggAlan t1_iy2wn4o wrote

Ugh. I *hate* highly peppered gravy. Whenever I order a chicken fried steak (which is a rare thing) I always have to specify no gravy or gravy on the side, and half the time the plate still comes drowned in "country gravy" that can vary from a good light gravy to apparently having an entire pepper shaker poured into it. Then there's the breading. Is it lightly seasoned or did they knock the whole pepper shaker into it?

Chicken fried steak without it swimming in a quart of gravy poured onto the steak, mashed potatoes, and rapidly tsunami-ing toward the vegetables is a concept some restaurants seem to have trouble with.

Remember that old saturday morning cartoon PSA "Don't Drown Your Food"? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIyPm0Z06KE

1

Gfgd420 t1_iy2xn3j wrote

It's all a matter of taste. I think most home cooks and some restaurants use too little pepper but I can understand where you're coming from if you don't love pepper. Where you from if you don't mind me asking?

1

GreggAlan t1_iy35emf wrote

Idaho, bred and born here.

Whomever thought up the order of born and bred? That's... entirely the wrong order of operations.

1