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Making homemade gravy is arguably one of the most important tasks when creating a delicious holiday meal for your family. With the holidays upon us soon, I thought it would be helpful to show how to make gravy the old fashioned and traditional way by using all the mineral-rich drippings.
My husband is the chief gravy maker in our home and he is incredible at it! He is so good at making smooth, tantalizing gravy that when my enormous family gets together for the holidays, he is designated gravy maker for the entire brood of 30 or so people. He also makes the dressing too and uses this sprouted stuffing recipe that everyone enjoys and easily digests.
If you need a grain-free option, check out this keto low carb stuffing recipe.
I also thought it would be important to show that men cook Real Food too to inspire all the husbands and boyfriends to get into the kitchen and make some awesome, yummy dishes for your sweetie! There is nothing more romantic, I can assure you! I remember when Richard and I were dating, one of the things that really got my attention was that he was such a fantastic cook! So, teach your sons how to cook ladies and your future daughters-in-law will thank you!
Homemade Gravy the Old Fashioned Way
The Traditional, Welsh gravy making method Richard uses in this video requires the use of soaked flour in order to reduce the phytic acid content of the wheat and thereby improve the digestibility and nutrient absorption of the gravy considerably. You will find that using soaked flour improves the smoothness of the gravy’s flavor. The gravy is also considerably lighter on the stomach when made this way.
You may also use sprouted flour instead of soaked in this recipe, but in Richard’s experience, the soaked flour leads to a better result.
Making gravy is more of an art than a science and does not lend itself well to a written recipe. That said, I have attempted to quantify the process in the gravy recipe below.
Generally speaking, use this rule of thumb. For every 2 cups of meat juice, you will need 1 cup of freshly ground flour soaked overnight in 1 cup of plain yogurt. For example, if you get 5 cups of juice from your Thanksgiving turkey, you will need to mix/soak 2 1/2 cups of flour with 2 1/2 cups plain yogurt the night before. Then, the soaked mixture is ready on Thanksgiving morning to make gravy when the turkey comes out of the oven.
Use the Giblets to Add Extra Flavor
I would recommend that you simmer the giblets on a low heat stovetop with some grass-fed butter. Do this in a separate pan while the turkey is roasting. Then, when it comes time to make the gravy using the turkey juices, simply blend in the meat juice from the giblet pan. It will add an extra boost of flavor and nutrition to the gravy!
In the recipe video below, my husband Richard demonstrates the process of making homemade gravy. He uses the drippings from a Thanksgiving turkey. If you use another bird such as duck or roast goose, the process is basically the same.
This recipe plus video on how to thicken gravy takes the video below a step further by demonstrating that process as well.
Homemade Gravy Recipe
How to make homemade gravy the old fashioned way with the drippings that is so rich and thick that Grandma would be very proud.
Ingredients
- 2 cups meat juices
- 1 cup flour preferably freshly ground
- 1 cup plain whole yogurt
- 2 cups whole milk preferably grassfed
- wide mouthed mason jar with nonBPA lid
- filtered water optional as needed
Instructions
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Blend flour and yogurt thoroughly in a bowl. Cover and leave on the counter overnight.
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The next day, use this mixture to thicken and make the gravy with the meat drippings from your Thanksgiving turkey.
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Pour meat juices including all the fat into a large frypan. Place on a burner on the stove and turn on to medium heat.
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Add soaked flour mixture to fill a mason jar to about half to at most two-thirds full. Pour in whole milk until the flour mixture is just covered.
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Fasten mason jar lid tightly and shake vigorously until the mixture is smooth. This may take a few minutes.
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Pour milk/flour mixture into the warm juices in the frypan and stir until well blended. If any lumps remain, press them out immediately with a wooden spoon.
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Bring the meat juice mixture slowly to a boil stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming. This will take about 6-8 minutes of stirring at medium heat.
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Once a few bubbles start to form on top indicating that the mixture is boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low heat and continue to stir and cook for another 5 minutes until thickened.
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If the mixture becomes too thick, add some filtered water or more whole milk to thin it down to the desired consistency.
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Add sea salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve immediately and refrigerate any leftovers once cooled to room temperature.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Sprouted flour may be used instead of plain flour which eliminates the soaking step above (sources).
I will try this.
But for about 30 years now I’ve been making my Thanksgiving gravy using all the vegetables that I add to the turkey roaster … onions, celery, garlic, carrots and the juices, to my vitamix blender and blend it all smooth. The vegetables create a bit of thickness and then I might add some milk with cornstarch to thicken it more. Recently, I’ve started adding chia seeds which also thicken it. My kids and grand kids can’t wait to have Thanksgiving gravy and then turkey/vegetable/ gravy casserole from leftovers.
Hey Sarah! Thank you for this great video! Is it possible to use milk instead of water and some tablespoons of lemon juice or cider or does it have to strictly water?
I used this method a couple of times now and it is wonderful! Simply wonderful! So good and satisfying, creamy and good. Yum!
And a belated congrats to you, Sarah, for your well-deserved award at the conference! It was great meeting and talking with you in the shuttle!
-Beth
Here's a great idea from cook extraordinaire Monica Corrado on how to make GF grain & gluten free (& GAPS friendly) gravy. "You will thicken your 'not gravy' by gelatin instead of flour, by rapidly boiling stock down to achieve a thickened sauce that is gravy-like! (This is called "reducing" the stock…viola' you have achieved a "reduction sauce"!)
First, deglaze the drippings on the pan with about 1/2 cup of orange juice (you may use wine if preferred). Bring to a boil and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen the drippings. You may also just scrape them with a wooden spoon without the o.j….that works too. Add about a quart of chicken stock to the pan. Bring it to a boil and, as always, SKIM THE SCUM and discard. You may add thyme and sage or other spices that you love or are "Thanksgiving-like" at this point. (Do not add salt yet!) Boil the stock until it is reduced by about one half. Add 1-2 teaspoons of good quality gelatin (such as Bernard Jensen's Bovine Gelatin) to aid in thickening. When you have achieved the thickness you desire, taste and add sea salt as needed.
-Beth
When making turkey gravy in our family, we take all the "throw-aways" like the neck, giblets, etc and simmer them for several hours the day before to make a nice stock (it seems like we never have enough turkey juice to make the amount of gravy that my family likes to have!) Strain, and then on Thanksgiving add the stock to the meat juices and proceed as Richard did. One more tip about lumpy gravy; if you have a Vitamix, put the soaked flour and milk in your Vitamix container, and just zip it around on high for a few seconds, then add to the gravy. Then, if your gravy still turns out lumpy, you can once again just put your hot, cooked gravy into your Vitamix container (they are BPA free) and turn it on for a few seconds until all the lumps are blended out. This tip is for those of us like me with kids, a dog and lots of distractions who end up with lumpy gravy despite our best efforts, lol! Happy Thanksgiving!
I have never heard of soaking flour, but if it works i will give it a try. I usually just make gravy with vegetable stock and cornflour (there are vegetarians in my family), but it tends to be a bit artificial tasting and also a bit claggy from the flour.
What a cute hubby!
Hi Sarah Faith, yes the milk adds a creaminess that is divine. So much more satisfying than without I think. Also, the flour is soaked in yogurt which adds even more creaminess!