Locally Carei: Pick a good starch, and from there it’s all gravy
When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, the next worst thing to a burned, dried turkey is bad gravy.
So what makes good gravy. Depends on your desires, do you need it to be velvety, glossy, smooth, lumpy, flavorful, rich and/or thick? To fulfill many of your desires, the secret is in the starch.
The two most popular starches used in gravy is flour, followed by corn starch. There are a myriad of thickeners such as arrowroot, tapioca, potato starch, bread crumbs, egg yolks, xantham gum etc, etc, but they are all far down the list. When it comes to gravy flour and cornstarch reign supreme. Both flour and cornstarch utilize their starch to thicken. Mixed with liquid and/or fat and introduced to heat, the starch granules fill with liquid and swell(thicken).
Flour and cornstarch differ in that flour contains proteins, while cornstarch does not. Proteins in the flour stick to each other, in layers, while filling up with liquid creating a velvety gravy. Protein-less cornstarch creates a more glossy, less cloudy gravy. You also need less cornstarch to create your gravy. For flour based gravy, you will need two tablespoons of flour per cup of liquid, cornstarch based; only one tablespoon cornstarch per cup.
The protein in flour also lends to the flavor of the gravy. But, that raw flour taste is not what we are looking for. With using flour, you get a more complex flavored gravy. To do this, we need fat to create the roux. Roux is the mix of fat and flour to create a thickener. It also helps eliminate the 鈥榬aw鈥� taste of flour. It can also help color your gravy. To make a roux, you take equal parts of fat (butter or turkey fat skimmed from roaster) and flour and cook on the stove top. A couple of minutes is plenty, unless you want to create color. The more you cook the roux, the darker it gets. The darker it gets, it gets a nutty taste. Be careful not to burn. Also, the darker the roux, the longer it takes the gravy to come together 鈥� patience.
Cornstarch is nearly flavorless, so just mixing it with cold water and adding to the liquid is good enough. Not only is it easier, but makes gravy faster. You can have your gravy thickened in under a minute. Obviously, cornstarch is the healthier option, also. By making slurry with water and eliminating the fat, butter and/or fat, it reduces fat and cholesterol. Make sure you add your cornstarch slurry to the liquid just before it comes to a boil.
When making the gravy, always use the drippings. Separate the fat from the liquid. Stretch the liquid with turkey or chicken stock. If you need to use boullion, make sure that you deglaze the turkey pan with wine or water to get all of the flavor from the turkey. With the drippings, you get the much needed gelatin released during cooking. This is what gives the gravy that lip-smacking stickiness.
The two styles also differ when heating up the gravy for leftovers. Flour/fat based gravy heats up easier and keeps its viscosity because of the protein bond in it. Cornstarch based gravy will tend to break up so you will need to whisk to bring back together and possibly need to add more of the cornstarch slurry to make it smooth.
There are other ways of thickening stock to make gravy. Arrowroot is like cornstarch. It thickens fast and creates a shiny gravy. However, you will have a hard time reheating arrowroot gravy.
Xanthan gum can be used as a thickener, although it may take a little experimenting. Two tablespoons of xanthan gum mixed with hot water whisked into stock will thicken. You may need to strain out bits of xanthan and the gravy texture will be sticky. Potatoes or dried potatoes will thicken stock as well, but there is a fine line 鈥� too much potato and it tastes like flavored potatoes. Pureed vegetables like carrots will thicken, but is the same as potato on taste. For a rich gravy, try egg yolks. Temper yolks with hot stock and heat until thick. Do not over heat. For tapioca flour, use one tablespoon mixed with cold water per cup of stock, like cornstarch. But with tapioca flour, you will need to simmer longer (5 minutes) to get rid of starchiness.
If you want thicker gravy, add more of your thickener of choice, thinner 鈥� less. No matter what the gravy, what makes Thanksgiving taste better is the people with whom you are enjoying it.
Flour-based gravy:
陆 cup fat from drippings (and or butter)
2/3 cup flour
7陆 cups turkey stock
陆 cup wine or stock
Heat fat with butter for at least one minute. Whisk constantly. For a darker gravy, keep cooking and whisking to desired color. Careful that it doesn鈥檛 burn. Add 7 陆 cups stock to the roux. The hotter the stock when added, the silker the texture. Keep in mind, the hotter it is, the faster you need to whisk to incorporate. Simmer the gravy.
Heat up turkey pan and add wine or stock to release all of the browned bits. Scrape and add into gravy. Heat gravy until fully absorbed 5-10 minutes. Adjust with salt and pepper. Serve.
Cornstarch-based gravy:
2/3 cup cornstarch
cup water
7 cups drippings (skimmed of fat) and stock
2 tablespoons wine (optional)
Salt and pepper
Heat drippings/stock in the roasting pan. Scrape bottom to release bits. Whisk together cornstarch and water. When stock is nearly boiling, whisk in cornstarch. Reduce heat and simmer until thick, only about a minute. Adjust with salt, pepper and wine if desired.
Heat the remaining drippings, adding enough chicken (or turkey) stock to make about 8 cups of liquid. This is easily done right in the roasting pan. Use a flat spatula to scrape and squish the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. In a separate cup, stir about 1/3 cup cornstarch into 1/2 cup water. While briskly whisking, stir the cornstarch mixture into the pan. Bring to a simmer. Keep stirring and heating, until thick and glossy, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a dash of port wine.
Chef Joe Carei has been an award-winning chef in Fayette County nearly half of his life. The former PA Restaurateur of the Year now operates Ellie Mae蘑菇视频 Catering and Food Clubs. He can be reached at joe@elliemaescatering.com.