Make Ahead Turkey Gravy With Marsala

Creamy turkey Marsala gravy in a dish with small ladle.

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5 from 1 vote

Use those turkey giblets to make a rich stock and get a jump on your turkey gravy.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 10

Total Time1 20

Course: Condiments

Cuisine: American

Servings: cups

Calories: 15kcal

Author: Carolyn Hetke

Ingredients

Turkey Broth

2 tsps vegetable oil
Giblets from turkey discard liver and use neck and tail pieces only
1 medium yellow onion
4 cups water

Other Ingredients

2 tsps fresh thyme leaves chopped or 1 teaspoon dried
½ cup whipping cream
¼ cup flour
½ cup dry Marsala (if you want to omit the alcohol see Note 1 below)
pan drippings optional to add at last minute when they become available. See Note 2.
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Broth

Heat the vegetable oil in a 3 quart sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the giblets, neck and tail pieces and onions and saute about 5 minutes until onion softens and meat loses its raw colour.
Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook about 20 minutes. The meat will release liquid.
Add the 4 cups of water, bring to a boil and then simmer over medium heat, partially covered about 30 minutes.
Strain the solids out. Use a fat separator or allow broth to cool enough to skim fat off the top of the broth.
Reserve 2 ½ to 3 cups of broth for use in gravy. Reserve remainder for another use. See Note 1 below.

Gravy

Bring 2 ½ cups of broth to a boil with the thyme. Use 3 cups of broth if not adding the alcohol to the gravy. Simmer about 5 minutes.
Blend the cream and flour to make a smooth paste. Add to the broth mixture and whisk in, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Add the Marsala and the salt and pepper.
Whisk while gravy cooks over medium heat about 10 minutes. Allow to cool if making ahead. Reheat gently before serving.
When/if pan juices become available they will add considerable flavour. Pour them in to the warm gravy carefully trying to avoid the fat layer. Whisk to incorporate and simmer about 5 minutes to meld flavours.
Taste test and adjust salt and pepper levels to taste. Do not skip this step... mine went from zero to hero with a slight salt adjustment just before serving.

Notes

Note 1: If you are addding Marsala you will need 2 ½ cups of turkey broth. If omitting alcohol use 3 cups of broth.

Note 2: Using the Marsala allows you to add flavour to the gravy when making ahead. Pan drippings at the end when they become available are optional but will add flavour. If omitting the alcohol add the pan drippings becomes more important.

Note 3: Variation - replace Marsala with ½ cup dry Vermouth and 2 Tbsps Cognac.

Nutrition is per Tablespoon.

Nutrition