Rich Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

2. Place turkey wings, onions, celery, carrots, and garlic into a roasting pan, and roast until turkey wings turn a deep golden brown color, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Transfer cooked wings and vegetables to a large pot. Place the roasting pan over two stove burners on medium-high heat, then pour white wine into the roasting pan. Scrape off and dissolve any browned flavor bits from the bottom of the pan into the white wine; heat and scrape the roasting pan until the drippings and wine have reduced to about 1/2 cup. Pour the wine mixture into the saucepan with the turkey wings.

3. Pour chicken broth and water into the pot, and season with thyme. Push turkey wings down into the liquid; bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes. Skim off any foam that collects on top. Pour the broth mixture through a colander into a large bowl; pick meat from the wings, if desired, to add to gravy, or discard the spent wings and vegetables. Allow the gravy base to stand for several minutes for the fat to collect into a layer on top, and skim as much fat as possible. Transfer the skimmed fat into a saucepan. There should be at least 1/2 cup of turkey fat; add butter to make this amount if necessary.

4. Whisk flour into turkey fat over medium heat until the flour mixture becomes smooth and golden brown. Gradually whisk in the broth until the gravy comes to a boil and thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow the gravy to cool, then refrigerate or freeze. Reheat almost to boiling to serve.

Editor's Notes

To make this recipe gluten-free, use gluten-free flour and either homemade chicken stock or water — or be sure your chicken broth is gluten-free.

The nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of the stock ingredients. The actual amount of the ingredients consumed will vary.

Cook's Note

For richer flavor, add turkey pan drippings to the gravy at serving time.