Cooking with Fire Episode 36: Gravy

Josh Cary and Chef Tom Jackson discuss one of the unsung heroes of the holiday dinner table... gravy! From red-eye gravy to country gravy to the classic brown gravy made with turkey drippings, it all gets covered.

Turkey Stock & Gravy Recipe

Ingredients

For the turkey stock:

• 1 turkey neck
• 1 turkey backbone
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 bunch parsley stems
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp black peppercorns

For the turkey gravy:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup AP flour
• 2 cups turkey stock and turkey pan drippings
• black pepper and salt, as needed

Instructions

To make the turkey stock, cut the backbone into 3 pieces. Preheat a stock pot over high heat. Put a couple of tablespoons of oil in the stockpot. Sear the neck and backbone pieces in the hot oil, turning until browned on all sides.

Remove from the pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula until all the browned fond on the bottom of the pot is released from the pot. Add the neck and backbone back to the pot, along with the remaining ingredients. Cover with one gallon of cold water. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until reduced by half. Strain the stock through a cheesecloth-lined strainer. Discard the solids. Refrigerate the liquid.

To make the gravy, melt the butter in the 8” Lodge cast iron skillet, over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk constantly until lightly toasted and fragrant. Slowly whisk in the turkey stock/drippings. Season with black pepper and salt, as needed.

Country Cream Gravy Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb sage sausage
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• kosher salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium heat. Break up into fine pieces. Add the butter. Melt. Add the flour. Stir constantly for about one minute. Don’t brown the flour. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly. Adjust consistency with more milk, if needed. Taste and season with the salt and pepper.