Make Ahead Homemade Turkey Gravy Recipe

Making the stock

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF/190ºC.
2. Place the wings on a large high rimmed cookie tray/sheet pan.
3. Drizzle the wings with one tablespoon of olive oil and season with ½ teaspoon of salt and a ¼ teaspoon of pepper.
4. Cover the tray with foil, then roast the wings for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for a further 30 minutes.
5. Carefully remove the wings from the oven and transfer them to a plate to cool slightly.
6. Pour all the drippings from the tray into a jug for later.
7. Pour 2 cups of boiling water into the tray and scrape all the bits of roasted goodness off the bottom.
8. Once the tray is almost clean, pour the turkey water into a large stockpot or saucepan.
9. Once the wings have cooled slightly, strip some of the meat off the bones and store for future use.
10. Place the turkey wing bones and a small amount of skin into the stockpot with the tray water.
11. Pour over 2 cups of broth into the pot and bring everything to a simmer. Cook the bones for at least 25-30 minutes, then strain through a wire mesh sieve.

Making the gravy

1. Melt a ¼ cup of butter in a large saucepan, once melted pour/scoop any fat that has collected on the jug of drippings.
2. When this has melted together, add ½ cup of plain all purpose flour. The mixture will turn into what looks like wet sand! This is perfect.
3. Cook this over medium heat until it starts to smell like toast.
4. At this stage, slowly whisk in a cup of your hot turkey broth, the mixture will get thick and claggy, don't panic. Keep whisking.
5. Add in another cup of the turkey broth.
6. Repeat with a third cup of broth (if you don't have enough broth left, top up your cup with boiling water).
7. The gravy should now be smooth and very thick. Slowly whisk in any remaining drippings along with ½ teaspoon of ground sage, then simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Depending on how you like your gravy slowly whisk in up to 1 cup more of boiling water. Go slowly, adding a small amount at a time until you have the desired thickness.

To store

1. The gravy can now be cooled and stored in an airtight container. It will keep for three days in the refrigerator or four months in the freezer.
2. As it cools, it will thicken up, don't worry, once reheated it will go back to the fabulous consistency you want.

To reheat and serve the gravy

1. If the gravy is frozen defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
2. To reheat, empty the gravy into a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
3. You can also do this in the microwave. Depending on the power rating, it will take 3-5 minutes.
4. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and pour in 3 tablespoons of heavy cream.
5. Check the seasoning and then serve.