Cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and coconut milk can be used to flavor plain tomato soup.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 4 hrs |
| Total Time: | 4 hrs 15 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 2 large turkey wings
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 10 cups cold water
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Combine onion, carrots, celery, and oil in a large roasting pan; toss to coat. Place turkey wings on top of vegetables.
- Roast in the preheated oven until turkey wings are browned and vegetables are caramelized and softened, 45 to 60 minutes.
- Transfer turkey wings and vegetables to a large stockpot. Place the roasting pan over a stovetop burner set to medium heat. Pour 2 tablespoons cold water into the pan and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Pour mixture into the stockpot and add 10 cups cold water, thyme, and garlic.
- Bring turkey wing mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until meat falls off the bone, about 3 hours. Skim off turkey fat throughout the process, reserving 2 tablespoons.
- Strain turkey stock and reserve 6 cups stock; discard all solids.
- Heat butter and reserved turkey fat in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook until it smells like cooked pie crust, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly pour in reserved turkey stock, whisking constantly.
- Increase heat to high and simmer gravy until thick and warmed through, about 5 minutes. Season with cayenne, salt, and black pepper.
- Allrecipes Magazine
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 115 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 10 g |
| Cholesterol | 23 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 92 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 7 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This is an absolute life saver! Not having to make the gravy while everyone watches you while they are starving is wonderful. Love the taste and the consistency is very silky. I tried this once 4 year years ago and this has been THE recipe to use. As for things I did differently, I used 4 turkey wings and the spices were dried because I just don’t have fresh spices on hand and they cost too much. Still loved it. Hubby doesn’t want any other kind now, especially since my gravy making abilities were kinda sketchy in the first place….
I have made this a few times. It is a good recipe, but it is a little too strong and I couldn’t put my finger on it until this previous Thanksgiving. In the end, I had to add a bit of half and half to mellow it down. Turns out it was the thyme. 4 sprigs of thyme became very concentrated. I think I will try just 1 or 2 sprigs next time.
Very disappointed. Had no flavor at all. Ended up having to make gravy at the last minute. Not what I wanted!
My husband and son made this in advance which saved a lot of time for us on Thanksgiving day. They doctored it up a bit by adding in some cooked up giblet/neck stock when they reheated on the day served. Took a lot of time, but many thought it was worth it!
Gravy was just okay with good consistency but I’d never make it again. VERY time consuming. Not worth the effort! I love Chef John but this was not great! Didn’t have as much rich flavor after all the time I spent. Still added turkey drippings to it for more flavor. Just easier to do last minute when turkey rests. Never again! Very disappointed.
I made this exactly following the recipe except for 2 changes. Since I spatchcocked our turkey, I added the back with the 2 wings to the pot. My stock pot would only take 8 cups of water instead of 10. At the end I added 1 tsp. of salt, white pepper and the pinch of cayenne. I still got 2 quarts of gravy using only 8 cups of water. It is excellent
I love having the gravy done ahead of time! Getting a Thanksgiving feast on the table is a lot of work and the gravy has always been the last component after getting the turkey out of the oven. I used two turkey wings and four turkey necks. The only other thing I did differently was to use two 32 ounce cartons of store bought turkey stock and two cups of water, instead of ten cups of water. I followed the rest of the recipe as written. When it was done, I ended up with 7 cups of delicious, silky smooth gravy. I have no doubt that this gravy is so much better than the gravy I would be scrambling to make after my turkey comes out of the oven! Thanks Chef John!
I have used this recipe several times and just love it. Chef John is the best. Whenever looking for a recipe, I google him first. This time I uses homemade vegetable stock that I had made with leftover veggie scraps. The flavor was delicious. Thank you again Chef John
Outstanding! Perfection! I’m thrilled that I was able to make gravy that tastes soooo good. Smooth and pretty to look at, as well. Thank you, Chef John
The usual Chef John deliciousness.
I have made this gravy recipe exactly as is for many years and it has always been delicious! Now that I have a Dutch oven, I wondering if I can roast the wings uncovered in the Dutch oven first in my kitchen oven and then continue the recipe in the Dutch oven on the stove top. Has anyone tried this?
I have never had so much gravy. We had 11 for Thanksgiving AND leftover gravy. And it was delish!
Thank you for giving us this fabulous gravy recipe! I made it for Thanksgiving dinner, and it was awesome. This will now be my go to recipe for turkey gravy.
I made this and the other Make Ahead Gravy. We (8) like the other slightly better and since it is easier to make with less ingredients, we choose that one. This was good, just a lot more work.
This turned out A-MA-ZING!! I have not been one to make decent brown gravy, until now! Chef John is a ROCK STAR! Explains things so easily and so unassuming that I was completely confident in my ability to make it. It is hands down the best turkey gravy I have ever made or had. I did in two stages, roasted everything & cooked the stock one day, strained and put stock in fridge to get as much fat (from the top) as possible the next day. Perfection! Even my hubby, who isn’t a huge turkey gravy fan, said it was dang good. ??? Try it, you’ll love it. Use the left over veggies and leg meat for a pot pie.
My gravy turned out phenomenal! I followed the recipe but like several people I split the liquid between chicken stock and water. I’m 68 years old and from what I’m told a pretty darn good cook but I never could get my gravy quite right I’ll be using this recipe the rest of my life thank you chef john!
I have made this for Years! My family’s favorite traditional gravy. Just heat and enjoy on Thanksgiving!
I have been making this gravy for 10+ years. I have shared this recipe with dozens. I use low sodium chicken broth (8c) and water. Season with garlic and onion powder. Tuesday night gravy is done. No stress. Thank you, John
Found It okay but in need of modification I use 3-4 Turkey Wings and season them with the same dry spice rub I use on my turkey. I make this stock in advance, adding a bay leaf, more garlic clove and thyme sprigs to the recipe. I will use 4C unsalted chicken broth and 6C water and a splash of white wine. I put the neck in the pot as well. Then the stock is perfect. I can use some of it to baste the turkey. I often will make the gravy while the turkey rests, mixing some of this into the drippings. I also using some of this for my dressing/stuffing. So that’s my way. Chef John is a go-to guy when I’m looking for ideas and this was a great tip and trick with the added modifications.
Excellent recipe as written. I thought adding 10 cups of water would dilute it, but it didn’t. Plus, as the carrots cook down, they add a slight sweetness to the favorable gravy. This recipe is worth the time to make it. Next time, I’ll double the recipe to ensure I always have some on hand.
My 16 year old son made this 11/17/2021. He brought to his youth group Friendsgiving. The adults were so impressed. When ask, did you make this. He replied with a big smile, I did. It was so tasty that everyone came to his table for hot Chef John’s Turkey Gravy. Wow!!!!!!!!!!!