Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Gravy

Most Thanksgiving gravy recipes require last-minute construction as they usually call for pan drippings from the bird to make a broth to thicken. This means a lot of last-minute fuss and more times than not, disappointing flavor. The approach here is to create a flavorful and concentrated stock ahead of time…way ahead, and then thicken it before use. It's the best gravy I know how to make. I often finish it a couple of hours before I serve the bird and keep it hot in a thermos. Before you begin, gather ingredients and equipment. Measure out ingredients.

*You can break this recipe up over 2 days 🙂

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Ingredients

Stock

1 large white onion
1 large carrot
2 stalks celery
6 whole chicken wings
2 tbsp vegetable oil
8 sprigs fresh thyme
6 leaves fresh sage
1 tsp black peppercorns
¼ cup red wine
6 cups water

Gravy

1 tsp brown miso paste (I used regular miso and it was fine)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp dark brown sugar
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
2 cups stock at room temperature
3 tbsp high-quality, unsalted butter
all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon
Kosher salt to taste

Instructions

Day 1 – To Make the Stock

Peel and quarter the onion into wedges and cut the carrot and celery stalks into several large pieces. Chop each chicken wing into three pieces using a heavy chef's knife or cleaver.
Heat a large heavy pot, or better, a wide Dutch oven over high heat. Add the oil and brown the wing pieces throughly. Remove to a plate or bowl.
Place the onion wedges cut-side down in the bottom of the pot and scatter the carrots and celery around. Cook, without moving, until the surface of the onion is dark brown. Then flip and cook the other flat side in the same manner. As the onion is cooking, move the carrots and celery so that they brown as well, but the important thing is browning the onion.
When the second side of the onion is dark brown, add the thyme, sage, and peppercorns and return the chicken to the pot. Deglaze the pot with the red wine, stirring for about 15 seconds and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of te pot. Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover tightly, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 1 hour. If steam starts belching out from under the lid, turn the heat down a bit.
Kill the heat and let the pot sit, still covered, for 30 minutes. Then strain the stock through a colander set over a tall, medium saucepot. You should have approximately 5 cups of liquid. Discard the solids as they've given their all.
Bring the strained stock to a boil over high heat yet again, then reduce to medium and simmer for 30 minutes to reduce and concentrate the flavors. After this you should be left with about 3 cups (SIMMER LONGER TO GET THE DESIRED CONCENTRATION, IF NECESSARY). Strain through a fine sieve into a fat separator and cool long enough for the fat to settle on top. Then pour off the stock into another container, seal and refrigerate. The stock can be kept chilled for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 3 months.

Day 2 – To Make the Gravy

Bring 2 cups of stock to room temperature (you'll have leftover stock – you're welcome!)
Whisk the miso, Worcestershire sauce, dark brown sugar and the ½ teaspoon ground black pepper into the stock.
Melt the butter in a saucepan or saucier over medium-low heat. When the foaming subsides, whisk in the flour. Continue to cook, whisking, until the foaming stops and the roux darkens slightly to light blonde, 3 to 5 minutes.
While whisking constantly, slowly pour the stock mixture into the roux. Boost the heat to medium and whisk until the gravy gently bubbles and thickens, about 5 minutes. At this point it should heavily coat the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and more black pepper.
If there are any signs of lumps, strain through a fine sieve into a gravy boat to serve or another vessel to cool and store. You may need to use a serving spoon to push it through the sieve. The gravy can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 3 days or froze for up to 3 months then reheated gently for service, or as mentioned above, kept hot in a thermos.

Notes

Alton Brown’s recipe from Food Network website (https://www.foodnetwork.com/fnk/recipes/make-ahead-thanksgiving-gravy-7937244)

Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Gravy