Herb turkey gravy without drippings

A spoon of turkey gravy made without drippings, on a bed of fresh herbs.

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Herb turkey gravy without drippings

Use butter (or even bacon fat) to make a rich turkey gravy without drippings. Simmer with fresh herbs for a perfectly infused flavor that's hard to beat.

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Servings: half-cup servings

Calories: 143kcal

Ingredients

¼ cup butter salted v unsalted, see note
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups broth chicken, turkey, or vegetarian (see note)
1 shallot diced, or half a small yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Make a roux (without drippings)

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced shallots and cook until soft.
Note: don't skimp on butter, you want equal amounts of fat and flour to properly thicken the gravy.
Add flour and stir to absorb the butter. It will form big clumps and that's okay (see post for pictures). Cook for about 10 minutes, until the flour smells toasty and is golden in color. (see note)
Slowly add ¼ to ½ cup of broth to the pan and stir to absorb into the flour mixture. It will be a gummy mess. Note: do NOT add more broth all at once - if you do the flour will float in it rather than mix into a cohesive gravy).
Once the broth and flour has formed a paste, you can add another ¼ to ½ cup of broth. Whisk to combine. Continue adding a small amount of broth at a time, stirring or whisking each time until it combines. Continue until the gravy is a desired consistency.

Finish the gravy

Add herbs - you can leave them whole with the stems on. If serving now, continue to simmer over low heat for 15 minutes for the flavors to infuse. Keep spare broth on hand to thin the gravy down as needed (some of it will evaporate).
If this is make-ahead: add herbs and then let the gravy cool and transfer to the fridge with the herbs in it. They will infuse their flavor overnight. Reheat the gravy on the stovetop and remove the herbs before serving.
Taste and add salt. I know it's annoying to not get an actual amount here, but this is one case where it's up to you. How salty your broth is, whether or not you used salted butter, all comes into play.
Need to thin or thicken the gravy?
Thin: add more broth and whisk to combine.
Thicken: simmer to evaporate some of the liquid. Alternatively, mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with ¼ cup cold water in a SEPARATE bowl. Once combined, slowly whisk the mixture into the gravy (a little at a time) until it's the desired consistency.

Storage & reheating

Store leftovers in the fridge for several days. Reheat on the stovetop and don't thin it down until it's fully warmed (it will appear thicker when chilled).
If serving for Thanksgiving, you can also reheat it in a mini crockpot so it stays warm throughout dinner. (like this cute sage green one!)

Notes

Butter and fat: don't skimp on the fat or your flour won't be properly coated, leading to a lumpy gravy. Use any kind of fat, from butter to bacon fat (or even olive oil). Use salted or unsalted butter, it doesn't matter (you'll just adjust the salt added to the gravy).

Broth: use your go-to broth. If you don't have one, I personally like Better Than Bouillon brand broth, which comes in a small jar and is paste-like. I think it has excellent flavor for something that isn't homemade.

Roux - cooking the flour: toasting the flour until it's golden (instead of a pale yellow), gives more flavor and it's less likely to congeal as it cools. When cooked less, it has more thickening power, but not as much flavor and can congeal. I use more flour to compensate for the less thickening-power of the longer-cooked flour.

Servings: assume ⅓ to ⅔ cup per person, without leftovers. Make ¾ to 1 cup per person to ensure leftovers.

Store in fridge or freeze. Reheat leftovers on the stovetop (for Thanksgiving), or in the microwave for leftovers.

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