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The best homemade turkey gravy

Name: The best homemade turkey gravy
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 2 h 40 min
Total time: 3 h 10 min
Yield: Serves 8-10
Ingredients: Turkey neck and giblets or 500g chicken wings; Dash vegetable oil; 1 large onion, unpeeled and sliced; 2 carrots, roughly chopped; 1 celery stick or small leek, roughly chopped; Leftover vegetable peelings and trimmings; Small handful thyme, rosemary and/or sage; 1 bay leaf; 1 tsp black peppercorns; 1 star anise; 2 tsp fine salt; 20g unsalted butter; 3 tbsp plain flour; 1 tbsp white miso paste; 300ml dry sherry; 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

By: Emily Gussin
Food producer and sustainability lead, delicious.

Published: 5 Dec 24
Updated: 20 Dec 24

A good homemade turkey gravy with plenty of flavour makes all the difference to your Christmas dinner. If you prepare a deeply flavoured stock in advance, the rest is easy – just make sure it’s served hot!

By roasting the giblets or some chicken wings, you get a deliciously deep and flavourful stock when it comes to the infusion. Saved-up veg peelings add depth and colour, while dry sherry cuts through the rich stock. Finally, two not-so-secret additions (Worcestershire sauce and miso) amp up all those wonderful savoury flavours.

Browse the rest of our essential Christmas dinner dishes and our full best-of-the-best Christmas dinner menu.

Easy
November 2024

Test kitchen approved

Serves 8-10
Hands-on time 30 min. Simmering time 2 hours. Oven time 40 min

Browse the rest of our essential Christmas dinner dishes and our full best-of-the-best Christmas dinner menu.

Freezable

Nutrition: Per serving (for 10)

Calories: 102kcals
Fat: 3.9g (1.4g saturated)
Protein: 3.1g
Carbohydrates: 6.5g (2.1g sugars)
Fibre: 0.5g
Salt: 0.6g

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Before you start

Why it’s the best turkey gravy
Take stock: A good stock is key to any gravy – but the last thing you want to be doing on Christmas Day is waiting for a huge pan of liquid to gently infuse. If you’ve got your turkey to hand, now’s the time to make the most of the giblets and neck that they usually come with, but if you’d prefer to sort it pre-arrival of the bird, chicken wings are a great alternative (just throw the neck and giblets in the base of the tin with the turkey as it roasts). By roasting the giblets/wings, you get a deliciously deep and flavourful stock when it comes to the infusion.

Use it up: In the run-up to Christmas, start saving any vegetable peelings and trimmings in a bag in the freezer. These little scraps are like gold dust for your stock, adding both depth and colour to the liquid. You can throw nearly anything in there – onion peel, carrot tops, those few final bits of limp celery in the salad drawer – but avoid potato peelings (as they’re too starchy) and any particularly flavourful brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli).

Sherry bomb: It’s Christmas, after all, so it’s worth splashing out on a bottle of (dry) sherry. What doesn’t end up in the gravy will certainly be consumed before the New Year, and it works wonders in gravies – the more pronounced flavour adds sweetness and a crisp acidity that cuts through the rich stock.

Umami boost: Two very tasty ingredients – miso and Worcestershire – work overtime in the background in this gravy, adding depth, umami and savoury saltiness without actually altering the overall flavour. Rather than making the gravy taste like miso or Worcestershire sauce, they subtly bring out the flavours of the stock, amping them up to 11 and turning this gravy into the best you’ve ever had.

Make ahead: At the end of step 3, you can chill the stock for up to 3 days in a container or freeze for a month (defrost before the next step).

Before you start

Make ahead: At the end of step 3, you can chill the stock for up to 3 days in a container or freeze for a month (defrost before the next step).

Ingredients

Turkey neck and giblets or 500g chicken wings
Dash vegetable oil
1 large onion, unpeeled and sliced
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 celery stick or small leek, roughly chopped
Leftover vegetable peelings and trimmings
Small handful thyme, rosemary and/or sage
1 bay leaf
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 star anise
2 tsp fine salt
20g unsalted butter
3 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp white miso paste
300ml dry sherry
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

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Method

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Put the turkey neck and giblets or chicken wings in a roasting tray, drizzle with a little oil, season with salt and roast for about 40 minutes, turning halfway, until golden.
Put the contents of the tray in a large stockpot or saucepan. Add the vegetables, peelings and trimmings, herbs, spices and salt. Pour in 1.5 litres cold water, then bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, for 1 hour, scooping away any scum.
Remove from the heat, leave to cool, then strain through a fine sieve into a container, pushing the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.

On Christmas Day, melt the butter in a medium pan over a medium heat. Add the flour and cook for a minute or two, stirring, until you have a thick paste. Stir in the miso, then pour in the sherry, a little at a time, until you have a smooth sauce. Simmer for a few minutes.
Add the reserved stock, a little at a time, stirring constantly, then simmer for 10 minutes until reduced by half and thickened. Keep warm.
When the turkey is ready, strain the liquid left in the bottom of the roasting tin through a fine sieve into the gravy. Simmer for at least 5 minutes more or until glossy and thickened to your liking. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and season to taste. Pour into a warmed serving jug to serve.