Turkey Gravy recipe with flavour

I use "Burdall's Gravy Salt" whenever making gravy, mince or stews and thicken with cornflour. Always giblet stock and the juices from the roasting tin and make plenty so I can freeze away slices of turkey breast in the gravy. When doing venison I put in a spoonful of redcurrant jelly.

Thank you one and all for all your suggestions, I feel a bit more relaxed at least about the gravy now!

You can still reheat the gravy even if you make it the day before from stock (absolutely thoroughly, boil for at least two minutes) in the roasting dish with all the juices and bits, after draining off the fat.
mmm and red wine too

I always make the gravy in the dish I've cooked the turkey in, using the giblet stock, vegetable stock, chicken oxo, cornflour with a little dry mustard powder, salt & pepper, a spoonful of cranberry sauce and red wine!

(Yeah. I know! Daft bat again )

Callistemon I might have been thinking of my last year's turkey breast. Having whole turkey this year so will hope for (and expect) giblets.

My secret ingredient to make it absolutely delish is a large spoonful of cranberry sauce .

Registered that one Gillybob.

Biggest challenge is Christmas Eve ...very big here in France so shops will have big queues for the fish and shellfish...almost as big a challenge will be finding potatoes like Maris Piper in Brittany for roasties ???

I've made the Jamie get ahead gravy this year and am storing it in the freezer.
Will add the turkey juices to it on Christmas Day.
DH won't eat turkey and we've invited a friend who will be on her own this Christmas. She doesn't eat turkey either so I'm doing Delia's steak au poivre for them.
The turkey will be smallish but I'm going to do the Paul Ainsworth recipe which separates and cooks the legs (stuffed).
The crown is butter basted and I'll add trad sage/onion stuffing.
Looking forward to trying the gravy.

The recent Jamie version seemed reasonable enough. His earlier one involved masses of chicken wings and, from what I remember, the whole of Christmas Eve standing at the cooker stirring to end up with half a jug of gravy. It tasted ok but no better than my usual effort, which is almost the same as Curlywirlys but with a normal oxo and a chicken oxo.

I have a large plastic version of the meat juice separator but, after years of use it is beginning to crack. Also have a smarter looking china version but it is much too small for a big family meal.

My OH sometimes cooks the Christmas dinner but has a mania for adding port to the gravy which spoils it. We are eating out this year. Seems strange not needing piles of food shopping and now need to decide what we eat on Boxing Day when the children go to their various in laws.

First world problems!

I do it the old fashioned way (as per Bradfordlass) with carrot, onion and celery stock then add some of the poultry juices, a splash of wine and a couple of stock cubes all thickened with cornflour .

My secret ingredient to make it absolutely delish is a large spoonful of cranberry sauce .

Me too kittylester but I might have a go at the Jamie one.

M and S!

As a rule I make my own gravy with just wine and stock but at Christmas I buy the M&S one.

I make stock from carrot, onion, celery and cabbage - these can be vegies which are just past their best and I use the clean, outside leaves from the cabbage. Boil in a little salted water, drain if you wish. Sometimes I add a little garlic.
A good way to use less-than-fresh veg.

I store this, well covered, in paper cups in the door of the freezer so it can be defrosted whenever it's needed

Once you have this basic and very tasty stock, you add meat or poultry juices and thicken it if you like.

I buy two turkeys, large one for Christmas day and a small one.
The small one I roast, slice for meals freezing into portions.
The bones and inners I slow cook for turkey and sweetcorn soup with turkey pieces and then freeze. This will make me two big pans of soup for the family on two days.
I then have about 4 tubs of turkey stock for gravy which I freeze. On the day I add the juices (cool in fridge first and skim off the fat) add to this thickening and oxos.
My freezers are full to bursting, I have my son and family here for three weeks, daughter and family for 5 nights, so have to be prepared that's the key to family gatherings and special occasions.
Best of luck

I use CanadianGran's method. But I usually add some stock from the boiled gammon and a good slosh of red wine. I make industrial quantities because everyone likes a lot of gravy on their meal. What is left is used to irrigate the Christmas pie.

I use Bisto, but make it in the pan as soon as I take out the turkey, then strain it as I put it in the gravy boat. That way you get the flavour of all the little bits stuck to the bottom of the roaster. I also use the water from boiling the carrots, which adds flavour.

I've got a separator, a nifty little jug which separates the fat from the juices.

Take the giblets out straight away if you buy it early.
You can make the stock and freeze it until you want to thaw it and make the gravy

Well I tip the juices from the turkey roasting tin into a dish, then skim off the fat; use some of that fat (this is what gives the gravy a lovely taste) to make a roux with plain flour (same as when you make a white sauce) then add all the turkey juices and some veg water. I then crumble in a chicken Oxo and add a little gravy browning. Voila, lovely tasty gravy.

Thanks for the tips! I’m going to buy a fresh free range bird from Aldi or Lidl, they start selling Thursday but that seems a long time to keep it in my fridge till Xmas day but if I leave it they may sell out in which case we might end up with a Matthews Turkey Roll! Do they still sell those, I remember when they first came out and we thought they were fantastic!

I totally agree with Callistemon. Giblets, meat juices and any stock from the veg.
Gravy granules are very synthetic.
I have never purchased a turkey without giblets.

Oh, I didn't realise. I've always found the giblets in the turkey.

Trouble is, they don't always give you the giblets these days.

I use the turkey juices with cornflour and bisto, and sling in some chicken granules to make it lovely and tasty.

The first time I did the Jamie Oliver one I didn’t take it out of the freezer soon enough, it was like trying to defrost an iceberg on Xmas day!