Can you make gravy?

[kay7]

My husband is great at making all kinds of gravy but turkey gravy escapes us.  We've tried store gravy but don't like it.  What I don't understand is why you can't buy turkey broth like you can chicken broth. 

[sommap]

We simmer the turkey neck and a few other turkey parts for an hour or so.  We cool that off for our turkey gravy juice.  After the turkey comes out of the roaster, we shake some  cold turkey broth in a jar with flour and salt and pepper.  By shaking the flour with the cold broth, you don't have any lumps.  Add that to the roaster pan with the browned drippings and cook until desired thickness. 

[jordandog]

My husband is great at making all kinds of gravy but turkey gravy escapes us.  We've tried store gravy but don't like it.  What I don't understand is why you can't buy turkey broth like you can chicken broth. 

Actually, kay7, you can buy turkey broth. The only one I am familiar with, and have used on occasion, is made by Savory Choice. You can get it in some stores, but not all, and it comes in cardboard 'boxes' and has 4 pouches or sticks you add water to and make the liquid turkey broth. I know it can be purchased online if you don't see it where you shop and want to try it. It has a homemade taste and it's not outrageously priced either.

I learned how to make any sauce or gravy there is when I was very young, so I am the 'go-to' for gravy and also make huge batches of it that my friends get from me around the holidays. I am not a person who drowns anything in gravy, but I love it on certain things and agree with whoever said to use cornstarch vs flour as a thickening agent, but NOT for a basic white sauce/roux. For those I use [wheat] flour. Tapioca is also a great one to use believe it or not - and no, you don't end up with little 'pearls' in your gravy. I have been told many times over the years that I make the best, but that's probably a way to keep ME hosting/cooking for all the huge get togethers.

**For those who use the packets you add water to? Have you ever looked at the outrageous amount of salt in them?! They're really not healthy for anyone who needs to watch their sodium intake.**

[gramev64]

The first time I made gravy it was one big mass of lumps and no matter how hard I tried to get rid of them they just wouldn't go.  I eventually learned how to make a good gravy, but try not to make it too ofter because  that is my favorite, mashed potatoes and gravy.  I would take more mashed potatoes and gravy instead of dessert!!

[bretay]

Yes I know how to make gravy.My mil taught me when I was 15,she was the one sho taught me to make biscuits.I just made some gravy yesterday to go over some rice.So good.Nothing beats the taste of homemade gravy and biscuits.

[lannl]

I like to make gravy with those gravy making packages that you can buy at the grocery store. Otherwise I do not know how to make gravy.

[bigfoot951]

Can I?  Probably, if I did enough trial and error, but I haven't tried to make it vary much.  So when I have made it, it was terrible.  I don't like to eat gravy on many things so it doesn't bother me, and just don't try to make it.

[mgint]

yes but it is easier to just buy in a jar or can.

[pfrancis001]

i finally learned how to make homemade gravy,  after so many try's with lumps.

[Cuppycake]

I like to make gravy with those gravy making packages that you can buy at the grocery store. Otherwise I do not know how to make gravy.

LOL ! That isn't really making gravy. That is more like boiling water. ;p

[lvstephanie]

Yes, I can.... I think I was the only guy in our college dorm that had been taught many of the basics in cooking. My mom's an excellent cook and she made sure to teach both my sister and I how to cook many of the basics before we went off to college, where we'd have to fend for ourselves. I'm very glad now that I was taught so much; I think I could cook a Turkey-Day meal and I love making mac and cheese from scratch using a bachemel sauce as the base and adding in tons of cheese and sausages!

@Kay7 and @jordandog: Kitchen Basics has a variety of different flavored cooking stocks, including not only the common ones like chicken, vegetable, and beef, but also turkey, ham, seafood, pork, clam, and veal! For many of the specialty ones, if they are in the store, they are usually in the 8oz. size instead of the more standard 32 oz. size; the common ones being in both sizes. I live in a fairly good sized town (just over 100K pop.) so there is at least one grocery store that has some of these more specialty items, but they may not be available all over esp. if the demand is fairly low. But I do like all of the KB stocks; I actually used the seafood stock in a seafood jambalaya I had made instead of water to cook the rice; it gave the whole dish a little hint of seafood -- very delicioso!

[girlswin2]

Oh yes got to have the gravy Southern born and raised if you live down here you will learn to make it.  I have found using either butter and flower to start it or either cornstarch mixed up in water to thicken the broth of the chicken or beef juices.  Quite easy to make just use wisk to mix it and usually no lumps.   Then just add whatever spices etc to get it to the taste you want.   
   

[Adroden2010]

Ive tried to make it several times and failed every time.

[MessiahMews]

Yes, I can make it really good.  I can go chicken gravy or beef gravy.

The key is to NOT burn it before adding the water/milk.

[Flackle]

Fry any meat with a good enough fat content to get some grease. Turn the heat to about medium and start adding shifted flour. Cook it for a while, getting it nice and thick. If you start seeing black spots that means you waited too long and it began to burn. You'll probably do this your first few times so just try again next time.

Once you think its cooked enough start adding either water or milk. I'd recommend milk for breakfast, water for everything else. Pour it in to desired consistency. The more milk/water you add the thiner it will be. If it taste strange it either got burnt, the grease was made using spoiled meat, or something else got added (be sure you using really clean spoons and a pan because anything stuck onto them may get cooked up into the gravy.) Be careful when cooking with milk. If you cook the gravy with milk too long all the water evaporates and your gravy will have a strong milky taste. Water doesn't matter as munch since you can just add more water.