Giblet Gravy

Posted by JMom | Sunday, October 24, 2004 | , | 2 comments »

After you have washed your turkey, hopefully you found the bag of its gizard, liver, and neck usually tucked in the neck cavity of the turkey. The first time I ever cooked turkey was when my husband and I just got married and I was trying to cook something that he liked. I looked through my cookbooks, consulted my mom, and finally I was ready to attempt this turkey roasting fete. Well, they all said to remove the bag containing the gizard and liver. However, when I was washing the turkey, I didn't find this said bag inside the cavity, where I expected it to be, just like a chicken. So I asked my husband, who I thought had more experience with turkey, how come there was no bag inside? He said, maybe they forgot to put it in, so we both said, oh well, and went on. I fixed turkey and all the trimmings, and we had invited my sister, his brother and a couple of friend over for dinner. It was a huge success, everyone thought everything was perfect. That is, until it was time for seconds. My brother in law wanted seconds, so he goes to carve more turkey. Lo and behold, when he cut into the upper portion of the breast, he goes, "What is this?" and proceeded to pull out a plastic bag from the turkey!!! Needless to say, we all lost our appetite at this point. There was the plastic bag with the gizzard, liver, and turkey neck.
So if you find this darn bag before you roast the whole turkey, do take it out and wash the contents and place them in a separate pot to boil as this is what you will need if you are to make giblet gravy. Another southern thing.



To make gravy you will need:

Giblet and liver, boiled until tender and chopped up. Reserve the boiling liquid.
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion
1/2 cup of flour
1/4 cup of butter
2 cups of the reserved boiling liquid plus any drippings from the roasted turkey

Melt the butter in a saucepan and sautee the onions and garlic until the onions are tender or translucent. Add the flour and cook until it has turned into a light amber color. Add the broth and simmer until the gravy has thickened. If you use the drippings from the turkey, you usually don't have to add anymore salt as the flavor from the turkey should be enough to season your gravy. However, taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

2 comments

  1. Unknown // 10/24/2004 10:05 AM  

    Thanks JMom, no more bottled turkey ever. Sometimes it just gets so hectic as the guests start arriving that I have an emergency bottle on hand. I'd like to try this easy one though.

  2. JMom // 10/29/2004 11:29 AM  

    Drstel, gravy is really easy to make once you try it. Throw out the bottles stuff! This tastes so much better, and you have more control on the sodium content. You know how we all have to start watching our BPs as we get older :)

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