How to make very good turkey gravy.
Part I:
A day or two ahead of gravy day, buy a turkey leg and thigh. Generously salt and pepper, coat a pan with a thin smear of oil and roast with a roughly chopped medium sized onion until done or near done and the bottom of the pan has nice dark turkey goo.
Meanwhile chop a small onion, some celery, and carrots and toss into a large pot.
Remove pan from oven, throw the leg and thigh into the pot and add water to cover... about 6-7 quarts. Deglaze the roasting pan with a cup of full bodied wine (Cab Sav or Malbec) and add to the pot.
Add about a half cup of dulse, a 2 3x5 pieces of kombu (both sea greens that add and enhance meaty flavors), a cup or 2 of dried mushrooms, 8 cloves of garlic, 4 tbsp of tomato paste, 10-12 pepper corns, smoked salt, and a generous glug of tamari sauce.
Bring to a boil then turn down the heat and simmer gently for up to 4 hours until you have about 3 quarts of stock.
Remove from heat, strain first through a fine sieve and then through a sieve lined with cheese cloth and allow the broth to cool to the point of comfortable handling. (I usually transfer 1/2 to another pot to speed this process along.)
Use your handy dandy fat separator to defat the stock. Reserve a 1/4 cup of fat for Part II.
Refrigerate.
Part II (Gravy day!)
About half way through the turkey roasting process, reheat the stock. Taste and adjust for flavor (more celery? more carrots? more pepper? more wine? etc...) Add neck bones, the popes nose, heart and gizzard and any chicken parts you may have in the freezer; and, if you are like me and deconstruct the turkey prior to roasting, add the back bones and thigh bones. And dried or fresh thyme and oregano and a cup or more of fresh parsley.
Bring to a boil then turn down and keep at a low simmer until the turkey in the oven is done.
Somewhere in there make about a half cup of golden roux with butter and reserved turkey fat.
Part III:
While the turkey is resting on the cutting board, drain all but 3-4 tbsp of fat from the roasting pan and put it on 2 burners on medium-high and ladle in more than a cup of hot stock to deglaze the pan. Scrape. If the liquid gets low, add more and continue to deglaze. When deglazing is done and the liquid is bubbling, add a tbsp of roux, whisk vigorously, and alternate between adding stock, wait to the bubble point and then add more roux and whisking all the while. Keep adding hot stock first and then whisk in roux gradually to the taste and consistency that you desire. Always use a gentle hand with the roux during the process.
Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.
Stain in a fine sieve.
Add a quarter cup of cream.
Voila! A very smooth, deeply flavorful and complex gravy.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I take the pan with the drippings, remove all but two tablespoons of the fat, put the pan on the stove, add a cup or two of chicken stock and bring it to the boil, whisking like mad. As it heats, I throw in some beurre manié (French for "kneaded butter" -- it's equal amounts of flour and butter kneaded together) to thicken it. Add salt and pepper to taste and voilà (French for "bowed instrument somewhat larger than a violin"
, turkey gravy that tastes of turkey.
