Fall is here! Time for potatoes, gravy, hearty soups and stews and homemade breads... and roasted chicken! I admit... I love potatoes and gravy. It's a comfort food that goes back to my childhood in the freezing cold Midwest and I've never lost my love of gravy even when we lived in Southern California and Nashville, Tennessee!
Today I'm going to share a hint for the best tasting gravy... it's all in the broth. I've never bought nor used store bought, canned broth. I simply can't stand the canned taste when it's so easy to have homemade broth on hand! (I've talked about that in a few posts already about chicken and saving the juice and broth in the freezer for future meals.)
Todays post however is about traditional chicken or turkey gravy. This particular recipe is one I make every Thanksgiving no matter what even if I cheat during the year and make a quicker more simple gravy for an everyday meal.
The most awesome thing about this particular recipe? You can make this ahead of time and it reheats perfectly without gelling up!
The Best Tasting Turkey or Chicken Gravy
Broth:
6 c chicken broth or water with boullion
2 lg. onions, quartered
1 c sliced or chopped carrots
1 c white white (optional) or use 1 more cup water (I usually do this)
1/2 c celery leaves
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour. Strain the vegetables out and disgard, leaving the broth. If it's reduced too much, add water to make it 6 cups.
Even though this recipe is just about the broth... I'm going to add the rest of the recipe to make it into gravy. I've already posted it on my site previously but just in case you missed it, here it is again. Enjoy!
Gravy:
Mash 6 T butter with 3/4 c flour until it forms a paste.
Break into 4 chunks.
Bring your 6 cups of broth to a boil and whisk in the first chunk of flour/butter. Whisk each in one at a time and whisk until blended and cook until thick. At this point you can cover and cool it in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days before continuing. When you are ready to make your gravy bring it to a slow boil, reduce the heat a bit and add anywhere between 3/4 cup to 2 cups pan drippings of your roasted chicken or turkey. When hot, serve!
