Making Gravy

🦃 🥧 Vol. 2, No. 14

Nov 25, 2024

🍗 Turkey Three Ways

And if you have any leftovers…

Honest question: what are DOGE’s thoughts on pardoning turkeys?

Mashed Potatoes, Kind of Robuchon-Style

by Anthony Bourdain

Ingredients

4 pounds medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and halved
2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to season
6 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

Gather all of the ingredients.
In a large saucepan, cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Drain well and let stand in a colander for 3 minutes.
Pass the potatoes through a ricer into the large saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the potatoes are hot and steam starts to rise, about 2 minutes. When they start sticking to the bottom of the pan, you’re good.
Add 1/4 of the butter cubes at a time, stirring constantly until incorporated. Stir in the heavy cream and season generously with salt. Serve immediately.

The Best Turkey Gravy Recipe

by Kenji López-Alt

Pouring gravy from a pitcher over a platter of sliced roasted turkey breast meat, with a bowl of cranberry sauce in the background.

This simple recipe from Kenji López-Alt uses turkey trimmings and just a splash of soy sauce to enhance the stock with some of that umami magic, forming a savory gravy with a texture that coats your turkey and mashed potatoes1 but doesn't feel heavy or starchy.

Ingredients

Turkey parts (neck, gizzards, and trimmings)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 ribs celery, roughly chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1.5 quarts low-sodium chicken stock (plus more as needed)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
A few sprigs mixed herbs (thyme and/or rosemary)
2 bay leaves (maybe even 3 if you’re feeling wild)
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup (1 1/2 ounces) flour
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Chop turkey neck, gizzards, and trimmings into 1-inch chunks with a cleaver.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering.
Add turkey parts, onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 10 minutes total.
Add stock, soy sauce, herbs, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Simmer for 1 hour, then strain through a fine-mesh strainer. Add any drippings from the roast turkey, then skim off excess fat.
You should have a little over 1 quart of fortified stock; if not, add water or more chicken stock to equal 1 quart. Discard solids and set stock aside.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Whisking constantly, add fortified broth in a thin, steady stream.
Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until thickened and reduced to about 3 cups.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

The gravy can be made up to 5 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. You can store gravy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

In most cases, it will reheat nicely, either in the microwave (stir every 30 seconds to heat it evenly and prevent a skin from forming) or in a saucepan over very gentle heat (stir or whisk consistently).