Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy

Hi Cindy :-> This recipe was originally posted by Jen in NJ. I tried it last year and it was really good. I think that I added some celery either to the pan when roasting or to the pot with the carrots and broth. I used the full amount of pepper but we like pepper. I, also may have added a bay leaf but the recipe, as it stands, will give you a large amount of very good gravy. I hope that you have a very happy Thanksgiving, Cind.

"I am hosting Thanksgiving this year. I had been worrying and searching for gravy recipes because I cannot make a good gravy. This Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy changed all that. I already made it this week, it is really good! And the bonus is, it's in the freezer now and just has to be thawed and reheated on Thanksgiving. One thing out of the way! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did."

~Jen in NJ

Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy (from Woman's Day magazine, 11/16/99)
Make up to 3 months in advance and freeze in an airtight container. Thaw 2 days in refrigerator. Reheat in saucepan, whisking often.

4 turkey wings (about 3 lbs)
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
1 cup water
8 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup chopped carrot
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp. stick butter or margarine
1/2 tsp pepper

Heat oven to 400 deg. Farenheit. Have ready a large roasting pan.

Arrange wings in a single layer in pan; scatter onions over top. Roast 1 1/4 hours until wings are browned.

Put wings and onions in a 5-to-6 qt. pot. Add water to roasting pan and stir to scrape up any brown bits on bottom. Add to pot. Add 6 cups broth (refrigerate remaining 2 cups), carrot and thyme. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours.

Remove wings to cutting board. When cool, pull off skin and meat. Discard skin; save meat for another use.

Strain broth into a 3-qt saucepan, pressing vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard vegetables; skim fat off broth, and discard. (If time permits, refrigerated broth overnight to make fat-skimming easier.)
Whisk flour into remaining 2 cups broth until blended and smooth.

Bring broth in pot to a gentle boil. Whisk in broth-flavored mixture and boil 3 to 4 minutes to thicken gravy and remove floury taste. Stir in butter and pepper. Serve or pour into containers; refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 6 months.This is supposed to make 8 cups of gravy. It made 7 cups for me. I refrigerated it overnight and the whole thing turned to gelatin. It was so easy to scrape the fat off the top. My tip for straining the broth: I have a big colander with small holes, and a bowl that is bigger than the colander. I put the colander in the bowl and just poured everything in the colander. The broth strained right into the bowl and the vegetables stayed behind. It was easy and no mess. Any little bits of vegetable sank to the bottom. When I emptied the broth "gel" into a saucepan, I just had to scrape the bits of vegetable off the "top". This recipe make really good gravy but next time I will probably use less pepper.