Use this Make Ahead Turkey Gravy recipe to make your Thanksgiving gravy delicious without relying on turkey drippings on Thanksgiving day. Develop deep and bold flavor using this simple recipe to prepare the gravy ahead of time.
make-ahead
minimal prep
You’ll Learn: How to make a deep and bold turkey gravy ahead of time
Worth It: It’s a flavorful gravy made from scratch that is sure to impress your guests
Bonus: If you make too much or simply just want to make this in advance, this gravy is good in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for three months
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Stress free gravy – No need to rely on your turkey drippings at the last minute for this delicious gravy! Make it ahead of time and avoid stress the day of.
- Thanksgiving prep hack – There is so much to do on the day of Thanksgiving, so I love doing as much as possible in advance. Having gravy ready to go in the fridge makes the day much easier.
- Fool proof recipe – By prepping your make ahead turkey gravy, you can take the time to fine tune it to your desired thickness so it’s perfect for your turkey.
Serving suggestions
This make ahead turkey gravy is delicious on your Thanksgiving turkey and mashed potatoes. For my turkey recipe, I use this dry brine turkey, and these easy mashed potatoes are perfect alongside it. I love serving these crispy maple brussels sprouts or a green bean casserole as a vegetable side.
For dessert, these pecan pie brownies are delicious. Pumpkin pie bars are great for a pumpkin dessert.
Ingredients and Ingredient Substitutions
- Yellow onion, celery, and carrots – these three veggies make up the mirepoix that is the basis of flavor for your gravy
- Garlic – the garlic adds some aromatics that enhance your gravy
- Bone in skin on turkey parts – breast, legs, or wings work great for this recipe. You can use any combo of parts to flavor the turkey
- Salt – salt your turkey parts to tenderize them and draw out all of the delicious juices
- Dry white wine – use a wine like a pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc to deglaze your pan and get all of the brown bits in your gravy
- Fresh poultry herbs – you can use a prepackaged combo of poultry herbs, or create your own with sage, rosemary and thyme
- Turkey broth – store bought makes this recipe easy, but you can also make your own
- Salted butter – make sure to use salted butter to create the roux for your gravy
- All purpose flour – the flour combines with the butter to thicken your gravy
- Soy sauce and dijon mustard – add these to your make ahead turkey gravy to deepen the flavors while it simmers
How to make
Step 1: Cook Turkey Parts
Preheat oven to 400F. Place yellow onion, celery, carrots, and garlic into an oven safe pot like a dutch oven. Salt turkey parts on all sides and place on top of vegetables. Bake in the oven at 400F uncovered.
Remove from the oven and set the pot on the stove top. Let the meat rest so any extra juice drip down onto the veggies.
Take out the turkey parts and heat the pot. When the pot is warm, pour the white wine in and deglaze the bottom, being sure to scrape at any browned bits in the pan. Simmer to allow all of the alcohol to cook off.
Step 2: Make The Turkey Gravy
Add turkey broth or stock to the pot along with the bundle of fresh herbs. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer uncovered for about an hour.
Pour over a strainer to strain out the vegetables. Make sure to squeeze any extra liquid out of the veggies. Set liquid aside for a bit.
In a clean pot, heat butter over med-low heat. Once the butter is melted and bubbling, pour in the flour and mix to make a paste. Let this cook for a couple of minutes before slowly adding in the liquid.
Step 3: Thicken the Gravy
Keep adding in the liquid, mixing constantly until all of it is combined with the flour and butter mixture. Add soy sauce and dijon mustard and simmer.
At this point you can troubleshoot the thickness. It will thicken when reheated and the longer you simmer OR you can thicken by taking ¼ cup of the gravy out of the pot and whisking with 2 tbsp flour until there are no lumps of flour at all, then whisk that back into the pot and continue simmering.
When you have reached your desired thickness, strain the gravy once more and transfer to a fridge or freezer safe container for later! Warm before serving, add any salt or pepper as needed when you reheat.
Storage and Reheating
Allow the make ahead turkey gravy to cool, then transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to three months.
Reheat on the stove until warmed through.
Check out these Other delicious Turkey Recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Make Ahead Turkey Gravy
Ingredients
- 2 cups yellow onion diced
- 1 ½ cups celery diced
- 1 ½ cups carrots diced
- 1 head garlic cut in half
- 3 lbs bone in skin on turkey parts breast, legs, or wings
- 2 tbsp salt
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 bundle of fresh poultry herbs sage, rosemary and thyme
- 2 qts turkey broth
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 6 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Place yellow onion, celery, carrots, and garlic into an oven safe pot like a dutch oven. Salt turkey parts on all sides and place on top of vegetables.
- Bake in the oven at 400F uncovered for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and set the pot on the stove top. Let the meat rest for at least 10 minutes so any extra juice drip down onto the veggies.
- Take out the turkey parts and heat the pot over medium heat. When the pot is warm, pour the white wine in and deglaze the bottom, being sure to scrape at any browned bits in the pan. Simmer 5 minutes to allow all of the alcohol to cook off.
- Add 2 quarts of turkey broth or stock to the pot along with the bundle of fresh herbs. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer uncovered for about an hour.
- Pour over a strainer to strain out the vegetables. Make sure to squeeze any extra liquid out of the veggies. Set liquid aside for a bit.
- In a clean pot, heat butter over med-low heat. Once the butter is melted and bubbling, pour in the flour and mix to make a paste. Let this cook and bubble for a couple of minutes before slowly adding in the liquid you set aside before.
- Keep adding in the liquid, mixing constantly until all of it is combined with the flour and butter mixture. Add soy sauce and dijon mustard and simmer for another 20 minutes.
- At this point you can troubleshoot the thickness (everyone has a different preference) It will thicken when reheated and the longer you simmer OR you can thicken by taking ¼ cup of the gravy out of the pot and whisking with 2 tbsp flour until there are no lumps of flour at all, then whisk that back into the pot and continue simmering.
- When you have reached your desired thickness, strain the gravy once more and transfer to a fridge or freezer safe container for later! Warm before serving, add any salt or pepper as needed when you reheat. Do not add extra salt before reheating.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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