Cheater’s Gravy (Make-It-Ahead)
I cheat. Not only do I make my gravy ahead of time but I make my turkey gravy from chicken parts. Which leaves you with two choices: You can go out and slander my name all over this turkey lovin’ country, or you can do what I do: cheat.
Welcome aboard. Here’s how it’s done.
What you’ll need:
- 1 package of chicken parts (4-6 wings or thighs or drumsticks)
- 2 medium onions
- 2 Tbls butter, optional
- 1/4 cup apple cider, optional
- 4-6 cups chicken stock
- Pepper — a couple teaspoons or to taste
- 3-4 Tbls Sage
- 2-4 Tbls flour or more
Heat oven to 400.
Put wings in a single layer in a roasting pan. Scatter chopped onions around and on top and Roast for 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is cooked.
Remove chicken parts and onion chunks from the pan and put them into a large soup pot. Add 4 cups of stock, pepper and sage and apple cider.
Into the still hot roasting pan, add 1 cup of water, which will hiss and start to boil. Scrape at all the dark stuff (this is where the good flavor comes from) so it mixes into the water. Add to the pot. You can repeat this step, with a little bit of water at a time, to get at all the good, baked on stuff.
Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for another hour or so. The house will start to smell divine at this point.
Remove the meat and save for another day.
Strain the broth into a saucepan, pressing against the onions and bits to get all the liquid out.
At this point you can put it in the fridge, which makes the fat solidify at the top of the container. You can easily remove the fat and throw it away before finishing the gravy on game day.
Heat the strained broth in the saucepan. Remove about 1/4 cup of the broth and put it in a bowl with a couple TBLS of flour. Whisk together until all lumps disappear and add to the pot. Continue to do this until it reaches the thickness you like. Keep it simmering stove top, stir occasionally.
At the very end, you can add a couple TBLS of butter into the gravy and whisk it in as it melts. This makes it shiny and pretty and tasty. I totally forgot this step this year and no one seemed to miss it at all.