Smoked Turkey Gravy [With or Without Drippings]

This mostly from scratch gravy for smoked turkey might just be the best thing on your Thanksgiving plate.

I may have a problem, but I’m salivating as I write this. It’s August. In Texas. It’s been over 100 degrees for I don’t know how long, and I can taste this turkey gravy like I had it yesterday. 

With this easy turkey gravy recipe, We’ll start by fortifying a store bought stock or broth with big flavors and then mixing it with a homemade roux. It gets finished with chopped sage, salt, and pepper. When you taste it you’ll think…”This tastes like Thanksgiving”.

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Turkey Gravy Without Drippings

With this recipe, the drippings, or rendered fat from the turkey are completely optional. If you’re collecting them and want to use them then have at it.

But as you’ll soon see, you don’t NEED drippings to make amazing, flavorful gravy. I promise you they will not be missed.

Whether you’re making smoked turkey breast, deep frying, or you just don’t want to mess with separating the fat, there’s plenty of reasons you may need to make turkey gravy without drippings.

For me, it’s because I make smoked turkey, and I just prefer to keep the smoker flavor inside the turkey. When the drippings are smoky, it just overpowers the classic holiday flavors (for my palette anyway).

Pro Tips for Making this Turkey Gravy

Making Turkey Stock

You could certainly make your own, but I called this a mostly from scratch recipe because I do start with store bought broth. However, by the time we’re done with it, it’s been transformed into a magical turkey elixir.

We start by sauteing the giblets and neck from our turkey in butter for a few minutes until starting to brown. If you’re making a spatchcock turkey like I do, the backbone is the perfect addition to this party. As that’s finishing up we add our garlic, onion, carrots, and celery, as well as some herbs like fresh thyme, rosemary, and sage.

Note: If you don’t have giblets or the neck or backbone, you can use a couple chicken legs or thighs (remove the skin).

At this point you’re experiencing what is probably the best smell in the history of smells.

When the carrots and onion get a little color, we add the stock or broth. Turkey stock is best but can be hard to find, even around the holidays. Chicken stock or broth works too. More aromatics – a bay leaf or two and black peppercorns are the final addition but can be left out if you don’t have them.

Everything gets brought to a slight boil and then down to a low simmer for an hour to develop intense flavors.

From there we’ll strain everything in to a bowl using a fine mesh strainer. If your family enjoys chopped giblets in your gravy then by all means save them but it’s really (really) not my thing. The neck however, is a little known delicacy. It’s a bit stringy, but man does it taste good coming out of that stock. “Save the neck for me, Clark”.

Making The Roux

A basic roux is melted fat mixed with flour which is cooked and whisked until smooth. The fat most often used for a turkey gravy roux is skimmed off the top of turkey drippings. As I mentioned earlier, feel free to use the turkey drippings if you like.

The fortified stock we made is so flavorful, you can use butter and you won’t miss the turkey fat if it’s not available.

When cooking the roux, you just want to be careful to not let it burn. Check out the step-by-step video below for more details.

That’s all there is to it. If you’ve never made homemade gravy before, don’t worry…once you do it once you’ll see how easy it really is.

If you want to take things to the next level, be sure to try my smoked turkey rub!

Smoked Turkey Gravy [With or Without Drippings]

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• Author: The Kettle Guy
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 2 Cups 1x

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Description

If you don’t have drippings but still want to have the PERFECT turkey gravy, I’ve got you covered with this easy and delicious recipe. It might just be the best thing on your Thanksgiving plate.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• Turkey Neck, Giblets, and/or Backbone (see note 4)
• 5 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, divided
• 3 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
• 32 oz. Turkey Broth or Stock (Or Chicken Broth/Stock)
• 2 Celery Stalks, halved crosswise
• 2 Whole Carrots, halved crosswise
• 1/2 White or Yellow Onion
• 2–3 Sprigs Rosemary
• 6–8 Sprigs Thyme
• 2–3 Sprigs Sage Leaves (plus 1 teaspoon finely chopped leaves for finishing)
• 3–4 Cloves of Garlic, Peeled (whole)
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 6 Black Peppercorns (optional)
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt (to taste)
• 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper (to taste)

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Instructions

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-high heat
2. Add the turkey neck, giblets, and backbone (if using) and cook for two minutes, flipping and turning for even browning
3. Add the onion, carrots, and celery as well as the thyme, rosemary, sage, and garlic cloves
4. Continue to cook everything over medium-high heat, tossing and flipping as needed for even browning, about 5 to 8 minutes or until the veggies have begun to get some brown spots
5. Add the stock or broth and the bay leaves and peppercorns if using
6. Cook on high until a low boil is reached then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. See note 1
7. Using a fine mesh strainer or colander, strain the fortified stock in to a medium bowl. Reserve giblets for chopping if desired, otherwise discard everything but the liquid. See note 2
8. Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter on medium heat in a medium frying or sauce pan
9. Add the flour a little at a time, whisking constantly. This is the roux. Continue whisking and cooking for 2-3 minutes. If it seems like the roux is in danger of burning, reduce heat to low or remove from heat entirely while still whisking
10. Add the fortified stock we made earlier a little at a time, still whisking vigorously until all the liquid as been incorporated. Add the finely chopped sage. Bring to a low boil and cook on medium heat for 2 more minutes while whisking occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon each is perfect for me). See note 3

Notes

1. If the stock is boiled rather than simmered, it could reduce a bit more than intended. If the gravy is too thick when finished, mix in a splash of stock or water to thin it out some
2. If you’re feeling snacky when cooking, the carrots and onion are very tasty coming out of the stock. Also as I mentioned above, the neck is quite good in my opinion. I tried it on a whim one year and now it’s always my chef’s treat
3. The gravy will thicken a bit as it cools. You may want to taste the gravy before adding any salt or pepper. It will still be delicious if you are conscious about sodium intake and don’t want to add any salt
4. Sometimes you’ll get unlucky and your turkey will not have a neck or giblets inside. If you’re doing a spatchcock turkey like I do, you’ll still have the backbone which is perfect. If you don’t have any of these, you can use a few chicken legs or bone-in thighs (just remove the skin)
5. Around the holidays, you can sometimes find a “poultry mix” of fresh herbs which has rosemary, thyme, and sage. This can save you a few bucks if you can find it vs. buying them individually

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 75 minutes
• Category: Dinner

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/4 Cup
• Calories: 60
• Sugar: 0
• Sodium: 21mg
• Fat: 5.8g
• Saturated Fat: 3.6g
• Unsaturated Fat: 2.2
• Trans Fat: 0
• Carbohydrates: 1.4g
• Fiber: 0g
• Protein: 1.2g
• Cholesterol: 15mg