Your Thanksgiving Gravy-quick update page 5

[winterman]

Since DH died, I have taken over the gravy making and it gets better every year. I start with making a stock with the neck, giblets and whatever else comes inside the turkey along with onion, carrots, celery. When that's done I strain it and save for adding to the pan drippings later. I make a lot so there is plenty left for leftovers.

 

[ronandannette]

It's just sliced hard boiled egg. Similar to this recipe. My paternal grandmother made it and it was my favorite part of Thanksgiving as a kid. My other grandmother did something different. Recreating my grandmothers egg gravy was my top priority when I started my own Thanksgiving

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/giblet-egg-gravy

Being as that recipe has a disclaimer right on top saying "feel free to omit the egg..." that's exactly what I'd do. I get that it must be a matter of taste and whatever you're used to but honestly that picture makes it look disgusting. Thanks for educating me though! Happy Thanksgiving.

Interesting though how food preferences are so personal and part of our fond family memories. I'm pretty grateful that my own ancestors didn't originate any further south than Iowa...there's alot of traditional southern dishes I learn about (like your gravy) that I'm pretty sure I'd hate.

 

[SparklePixie]

Being as that recipe has a disclaimer right on top saying "feel free to omit the egg..." that's exactly what I'd do. I get that it must be a matter of taste and whatever you're used to but honestly that picture makes it look disgusting. Thanks for educating me though! Happy Thanksgiving.

The whole purpose of making gravy is to get rid of the lumps, not add more.

 

[gottaluvPluto]

I make turkey gravy the Monday before Thanksgiving using turkey wings and legs. It is the best gravy I have ever eaten and so easy to do.

 

[disneyjunkie]

What do you do with the eggs? I have never before in my life heard of this...

You dice up a boiled egg add it in along with diced gizzards. My family also uses turkey necks.

I grew up and still live in NYC. My parents are from South Carolina. Our Thanksgiving meals here or in SC, are always typical southern/soul meals. We never have mashed potatoes, string beans or pumpkin pie.

We have
Turkey
Ham
Rice
Baked Macaroni and cheese
Collard greens
Corn bread stuffing
Candied yams
Giblet gravy
Sweet potato pie
Apple pie
Banana pudding
Cakes

 

[tzolkin]

I am from the South... gravy, real gravy (not jarred beef gravy) is a MUST.
My inlaws were from the North. They did not even consider gravy.
After a lot of 'dry' thanksgiving meals, I started making gravy.

I really think this had to just be your in-laws preference.

It's definitely not a North vs South thing. I have lived half my life in places in the South and half in different areas in the Northeast and I have never heard of anyone not making/using gravy as a "regional" thing. Especially Thanksgiving-- isn't turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes the definition of Thanksgiving meal across the country?

 

[marthachick]

My mom makes pan gravy. No chopped giblets or eggs. However, today we had a Thanksgiving meal at church and I took Heinz jarred turkey gravy. We had 1 fried turkey from Bojangles and 1 turkey breast. No homemade gravy. The rest was ham, chicken and other stuff. I guess the jarred gravy was ok as not much was leftover.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I have a vegetarian in the family so I make a vegetarian gravy from a recipe I found on the internet. I did it last year for the first time and it was good so that's the gravy I make now for the most part.

For people who still want the traditional stuff, I pick up a jar of turkey gravy and heat it on the stove with drippings from the turkey. That seems to help remove the jar taste.
This year it's just the 4 of us so I'm only doing the vegetarian gravy.

 

[msjprincess]

I really think this had to just be your in-laws preference.

It's definitely not a North vs South thing. I have lived half my life in places in the South and half in different areas in the Northeast and I have never heard of anyone not making/using gravy as a "regional" thing. Especially Thanksgiving-- isn't turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes the definition of Thanksgiving meal across the country?

I agree. I live in the North and I don't know of anyone who doesn't have gravy with turkey.

 

[leebee]

We do make ham gravy but we don't do ham with any type of glaze, we prefer savory type ham. We get a plain ham (picnic ham large bone in) and we roast it. Light salt and pepper and cooked in a cooking bag with celery, carrots and potatoes and sometimes onions, just a small amount of water to keep it moist. After it reaches temp, we take it out strain the veg out of the drippings and just like turkey we heat, add some liquid (sometimes chicken or veg stock but often water) if the drippings are salty or expecially rich. Then thicken with cornstarch. It's good but because of the nature of hams (cured with salt/fatty layers) a little gravy goes a long way and the water added at the beginning really helps even out the balance of the gravy.

My step dad is also a straight from the can Jellied Cranberry sauce, lines and all. HAHAHA

Wish I'd read this before putting the ham in this afternoon. It'd never cross my mind to do it in a bag with veggies, but it sounds divine. NEXT TIME... for sure!

With ham, my great grandmother, nana, and mom always made what we call "champagne sauce." It's basically water, sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper, boiled to thicken. It comes out like a sweet/sour sauce, about the thickness of the can juice in canned pears. I haven't made it in years. Maybe today is the day!

 

[yeahdisney]

We had Thanksgiving meal today. And I did as one of you said put the corn starch in the cold water and then put in the drippings. I did add salt, pepper and celery salt. No lumps and yum. Thanks

 

[Planogirl]

My mother always added the chopped egg so it doesn't bother me. I always suspected that it helped to hide flour lumps.

I always make homemade gravy. It might get a little boost from Knorr but the basic gravy is made from homemade stock.

 

[ronandannette]

My mother always added the chopped egg so it doesn't bother me. I always suspected that it helped to hide flour lumps.

I always make homemade gravy. It might get a little boost from Knorr but the basic gravy is made from homemade stock.

I'm guessing you don't make your living in sales...

 

[Planogirl]

I'm guessing you don't make your living in sales...

I'm not saying that this is done for this reason by everyone. But I know my mother.

 

[AustinTink]

I'm the one who gets stuck making the gravy every year. No one else has the patience apparently. Mine starts with a nice brown roux. It's all about the roux.

 

[hopemax]

My Mom was a pretty good cook, but her Mom was Italian, so most meals were pasta, lasagna, etc. So she never really made gravy, just a packet and add milk. Then one year, (if you can follow this, lol) my Dad's best friend's Mom & Dad came and she taught my Mom how to make gravy with the pan drippings (no, it's not really hard, but it's nice to have some direction about the proportions).

It's just DH & me for Thanksgiving (we don't live local to our parents, or family) so what I make is dependent on how much work I want to put in for 2 people, and 15 min of eating. So some years it's a jar, some years is homemade. This year is the first holiday after losing my Mom, my brain/body is still too fried so when I saw the Turkey gravy at Trader Joe's, I picked it right up. We're also just getting a store bought pie (but from a local place), picking up rolls from a bakery, and I just got a turkey breast instead of a small whole turkey.

 

[wishesuponastar]

Homemade with the pan drippings. Had to edit my post. I must have forgotten how I made the gravy and I got lumps this year because I added flour to the hot drippings. Definitely mix your flour in cold liquid as other posters said.

 

[ronandannette]

I'm the one who gets stuck making the gravy every year. No one else has the patience apparently. Mine starts with a nice brown roux. It's all about the roux.

Homemade with the pan drippings. I bring the drippings with water added (about 3 cups) to a low boil...salt & pepper added too. Then when it has boiled for about 2 minutes I put some of that hot mixture into a mug and add some flour to make a paste then add that to the pot and simmer for about 5 minutes. Done

Roux method or slurry...oh the humanity. We need to spin-off a poll!

 

[Paradise18]

For perfect, lump free gravy I use Knorr Veloutine Instant Thickener for brown gravy. I whisk it into my boiling stock and drippings. I tried using flour and cornstarch without success until I discovered Veloutine. Best thing ever for making gravy, in my opinion. I buy it at Walmart here in Canada. It doesn't add any flavour, just thickens and gives the gravy a nice colour.

 

[tzolkin]

Roux method or slurry...oh the humanity. We need to spin-off a poll!

I had never even heard of the "slurry" method until I moved to NC and made my first chicken stew/chicken mull. All I could think was, "This is 'raw' flour, how will it taste good and not get lumpy?"

As far as gravy options, there's also cornstarch.
My dad has celiac's, so my mom uses cornstarch to thicken things that she doesn't want to make two of.