Servings: 6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
1. Take the giblets and neck from the raw turkey and cover them with water by 2 inches in a pot. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer it for 45 minutes to both cook the meat and to make a giblet broth for the gravy.
2. Remove the giblets and neck from the water and set them aside. Keep the giblet broth for later.
3. Pour all the drippings from the turkey roasting pan into a bowl. Let the drippings sit and separate naturally, then use a spoon or ladle to carefully separate the fat on top from the liquid drippings.
4. In a skillet heat about 1 cup of the turkey fat. Sprinkle the flour all over the fat and immediately begin whisking it around to make a paste. Add more flour or fat as needed to create the right consistency: You want the mixture to be a stirrable paste and not overly greasy.
5. Once the paste/roux is the right consistency, whisk it slowly for a few minutes, allowing it to cook to a deep golden brown color. A nice brown roux is the secret to good gravy.
6. Once the roux is ready, pour in one cup of the drippings and one cup of the broth, whisking constantly. Then just let the gravy cook and thicken, whisking for 5 to 8 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, use your fingers to remove as much of the neck meat as you can and chop the giblets into fine pieces. Add as much of the meat to the gravy as you’d like.
8. If the gravy seems too thick, add more broth and/or a little of the reserved giblet broth (the water used to cook the giblets).
9. Finally, season the gravy with a little bit of salt and plenty of black pepper!