Close-up of creamy mashed potatoes with turkey gravy on a vibrant red plate, showcasing a classic comfort dish.

Mashed Potatoes & Turkey Gravy

Name: Mashed Potatoes & Turkey Gravy
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 14
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 1/2 lb russet potatoes; 2 cloves garlic, crushed, peeled; 1 cup heavy cream; 1/2 cup unsalted butter; 1 tbsp Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Pepper Salt; 1/4 cup sour cream; 1 1/2 quarts turkey stock and turkey drippings from the pan of a spatchcock turkey.; 1/2 cup butter and turkey fat (rendered during cooking); 2/3 cup all purpose flour; 2 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub

Nov 20, 2024 • Tom Jackson

Nothing says comfort like a big, fluffy mound of mashed potatoes drenched in rich, golden turkey gravy! This recipe is all about cozy vibes and big flavor, combining creamy, buttery potatoes with a gravy so good you’ll want to pour it on everything. Whether you’re serving this for a holiday feast, or a weeknight treat, it’s guaranteed to bring smiles, full bellies, and maybe even a little happy dance at the table. So grab your potatoes, your favorite whisk, and let’s make some magic happen!

What You'll Love

The potato ricer is the technique. Pressing the cooked potatoes through a ricer rather than mashing them produces a uniformly smooth, lump-free base. The ricer breaks the cell structure evenly without overworking the starch — which is what makes these potatoes light and fluffy rather than gluey.
The cream and butter go in warm, not cold. Direction step 2 warms them together in a small pot before they're mixed into the riced potatoes. Cold dairy added to hot riced potatoes drops the temperature of the mix and causes the starch to seize, making the potatoes dense. Warm dairy incorporates immediately and produces a silkier result.
The turkey gravy is built from actual spatchcock turkey drippings, not from a packet. The 1½ quarts of stock and drippings from the turkey roasting pan is the flavor base — reduced with a roux of butter, turkey fat, and flour, then seasoned with Cattleman's Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub. The Lone Star adds savory depth and a slight peppercorn bite that you don't get from plain salt and pepper.
This is a 30-minute recipe for 14 people. The potatoes boil while the gravy roux is built — both components finish at the same time and the entire dish is table-ready before most side dishes are out of the oven.

Mashed Potatoes & Turkey Gravy

Tom Jackson

Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users

Cuisine

American

Servings

14

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Calories

320

This recipe serves 14 and features creamy mashed potatoes paired with a rich turkey gravy. Start by peeling and boiling 3 ½ pounds of russet potatoes with garlic cloves until tender, then rice the potatoes and mix with warmed heavy cream, butter, sour cream, and Black Pepper Salt for a smooth, flavorful base. For the gravy, combine 1 ½ quarts of turkey stock and drippings from a spatchcock turkey. Make a roux by melting butter and rendered turkey fat, whisking in flour until nutty and brown, then slowly incorporating the hot stock mixture. Season with Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub and cook to your preferred consistency. Serve the mashed potatoes generously topped with the savory turkey gravy.

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Ingredients

3 1/2 lb russet potatoes
2 cloves garlic, crushed, peeled
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tbsp Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Pepper Salt
1/4 cup sour cream

Turkey Gravy:

1 1/2 quarts turkey stock and turkey drippings from the pan of a spatchcock turkey.
1/2 cup butter and turkey fat (rendered during cooking)
2/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub

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Directions

Peel the potatoes. Cut into large chunks. Cook in simmering water with the peeled cloves of garlic until tender, about 25 minutes. Press through the potato ricer.
While the potatoes cook, warm the cream and butter in a small pot.
Mix the warmed cream and butter into the riced potatoes. Add the salt and sour cream and stir with a whisk until well incorporated.
To make the gravy, heat the stock and turkey drippings in a skillet. Bring to a simmer, then hold warm.
Melt the butter and turkey fat in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk frequently for a about 90 seconds, until the aroma is nutty and the texture resembles wet sand.
Slowly pour in the hot turkey stock mixture, whisking constantly. Cook to desired thickness, adding water or more stock as needed. Add the Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub to season.
Serve the mashed potatoes topped with the turkey gravy.

Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

Do I need a potato ricer, or can I use a hand masher?

A potato ricer produces a noticeably smoother, lighter result than a hand masher. The ricer breaks the potato cells evenly and uniformly — a masher applies uneven pressure and can leave lumps or, if used too aggressively, overwork the starch into a gluey, dense texture. If you don't have a ricer, a food mill produces similar results. A hand masher works in a pinch but the texture will be coarser. Don't use a food processor or stand mixer — both overwork the starch significantly and produce gummy, dense mashed potatoes regardless of the technique used before.

What if I don't have turkey drippings — can I make the gravy without them?

Yes — substitute the full 1½ quarts with store-bought turkey or chicken stock and add a tablespoon of Cattleman's Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub directly to the roux stage to season aggressively, since you're missing the natural seasoning from the drippings. The flavor depth will be lighter without the drippings, but the technique and texture are identical. If you have any roasted poultry pan drippings from another cook, those work as a partial substitute for up to half the liquid volume.

How do I know when the roux is ready before adding the stock?

Direction step 5 says to cook the butter-fat-flour roux for about 90 seconds, until the aroma is nutty and the texture resembles wet sand. Those are the two cues — aroma and texture, not just time. Raw flour smells starchy and flat; a properly cooked roux smells toasty and slightly nutty. The wet sand texture means the flour has absorbed all the fat and the mixture no longer looks shiny or wet. Don't rush past this stage — underdeveloped roux produces a gravy with a raw flour taste that no amount of seasoning fixes.

How do I fix gravy that comes out too thick or too thin?

Too thick: whisk in additional warm stock or water a few tablespoons at a time over low heat until the consistency pours cleanly off a spoon. Too thin: continue simmering uncovered over medium heat — the gravy will reduce and thicken without adding any additional ingredients. Don't add more flour to thin gravy; it will form lumps. The direction already accounts for this with "cook to desired thickness, adding water or more stock as needed" — the recipe is designed to be adjusted.

Can I make this indoors?

Indoor cooking rating: 5 out of 5 — Perfect for indoor or outdoor cooking. This is an entirely stovetop recipe. The potatoes boil on a burner, the cream and butter warm on a second burner, and the roux and gravy come together in a dutch oven on a third. There is no grill-specific element anywhere in this recipe. It pairs with the spatchcock turkey from the hub links, which is a grill recipe, but the mashed potatoes and gravy stand completely on their own as stovetop dishes.

Recipe Highlights

Simmer, Don't Boil, the Potatoes: Direction step 1 says "simmering water" — not a rolling boil. Boiling potatoes aggressively causes the exterior to fall apart and waterlog before the center is cooked through, which dilutes the potato flavor and makes the riced result watery and loose. A steady simmer (about 185–190°F) cooks the potatoes evenly from outside to center in about 25 minutes. Test for doneness by piercing the largest chunk with a paring knife — it should slide in and out with no resistance.
Cook the Garlic With the Potatoes, Not Separately: Direction step 1 adds crushed, peeled garlic cloves directly to the simmering water with the potatoes. The garlic cooks to full softness over 25 minutes and passes through the ricer with the potatoes, integrating as a smooth, mild garlic flavor throughout the mash rather than as a distinct garlic piece. This is a different result from roasted garlic (more assertive) or raw minced garlic (sharp and harsh) — it produces the most subtle, evenly distributed garlic character of the three methods.
Add the Lone Star Rub to the Gravy at the End, Not the Beginning: Direction step 6 adds the Cattleman's Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub after the stock is fully incorporated and the gravy has begun to reduce to thickness. Added at the beginning of the stock incorporation, the seasoning gets diluted and distributed unevenly as the roux absorbs the liquid. Added at the end, you can taste the actual seasoning level and adjust. Start with the 2 tablespoons called for, taste, and add more if needed before serving.
Serve Immediately — Mashed Potatoes Don't Hold Well: Riced potatoes mixed with warm cream, butter, and sour cream are at peak texture the moment they're finished. Holding them in a pot over low heat causes the starch to continue absorbing the dairy, producing a denser, stiffer mash within 20–30 minutes. If you need to hold them, place the pot in a larger pot of barely simmering water (bain-marie) rather than over direct heat, and whisk in a splash of warm cream just before serving to loosen the texture.