How to Make Gravy from Drippings for the Home Table

Set out Pan drippings from a turkey or chicken, Chicken Stock or turkey stock, and Fat skimmed from pan dripping before you start How to Make Gravy from Drippings for the Home Table. The batch is written for 2 cups.

Count on 20 minutes of cooking, about 20 minutes from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

• Pan drippings from a turkey or chicken
• 1 cup Chicken Stock or turkey stock, more as needed
• ¼ cup Fat skimmed from pan dripping
• ¼ cup All-Purpose Flour
• Kosher salt to taste
• Black Pepper to taste

How the cooking goes

1. The key to making gravy from pan drippings is to add stock or water to the bottom of the roasting pan before cooking and again during cooking as needed. You just need the surface to be covered so that the drippings don’t burn as they hit the hot pan.
2. Remove the bird and the roasting rack from the roasting pan. Place pan over two burners or just one if you just cooked a chicken.
3. Put an additional 1 cup of chicken or turkey stock to the roasting pan. Heat it until it boils and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Turn off heat.
4. Place a large bowl or liquid measuring cup on a towel. Place a strainer inside the bowl or cup.
5. Carefully pour the liquid from pan through the strainer and into the cup. Discard contents of strainer.
6. Allow the fat to rise to the surface in the measuring cup. Carefully skim off the fat and place into a separate measuring cup. You use a small ladle to skim the fat from the surface. Press it just below the surface and the fat will run over the edge and into the ladle. You need a ¼ cup of fat.
7. If you don’t get enough fat from your pan drippings, make up the difference with melted butter.
8. If there is more than a ¼ cup of fat from the drippings, continue skimming the rest of the fat from the stock. The stock will be your liquid in the gravy and we don’t want to add extra fat. You want to end up with about 2 cups of stock. If you don’t have enough, make up the difference with more hot chicken or turkey stock.
9. In a medium sauce pot, add the ¼ cup reserved fat and the ¼ cup flour. Using a flat bottomed whisk, whisk together the fat and flour, cooking over a moderate flame. This is called making a roux. This roux will be the thickener for the gravy.
10. Cook the roux until it has browned and boiled for at least 1 minute. Once it is a nice deep gold, slowly add stock about a ½ cup at a time. Continuously whisking while slowly loosening the gravy.
11. While whisking, pour in the rest of the stock. It will be loose. Don’t be stressed!
12. Allow the stock to simmer on low until the desired consistency is reached. Don’t forget that it will continue to thicken as it cools. Taste and season with kosher salt and black pepper.
13. Use immediately or you will need to reheat then then add more stock.

After it comes off the heat

Give the plate the rest the method asks for. Cover leftovers and refrigerate them when the dish includes meat, eggs, or dairy.

If you want another plate from Sides, open Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes beside the Main Plate and Baked Acorn Squash Halves beside the Main Plate.