ISO: ISO gravy advice

In Search Of:
A

amanda_pennsylvania

Well-known member
My husband and I are going to be visiting my parents for Thanksgiving this year. Because of her pancreatic cancer, my mother can no longer eat much or be around the scent of food cooking. (Nausea is a constant problem. She's stopped the chemotherapy and is now under hospice care.)

In any case, I was planning to cook some Thanksgiving dishes at my house and bring them down to my parents. Something like a turkey breast and all the usual suspects. But the problem is gravy. I know this is a shortcut most of us don't take, but does anyone have a recommendation for a decent canned/jarred/packaged gravy? And stuffing, for that matter. (I think everything else is doable.) My plan is to reheat everything in the microwave so the scent is somewhat contained.

Any thoughts? Thanks much...

 
I hate to admit, but I have Stovetop Stuffing mix at the cabin, and if I add sauteed onion/celery

and some fresh parsley and sage(or just a dash of dried seasonings) and some dried cranberries or apples, it can be pretty good. And, if you use a gravy mix with the drippings from your turkey roast, it can turn out OK too. I always add more pepper to it.

 
Hi Amanda...

I am sorry to hear about your mom's health. Hospice is such a wonderful organization.

When I roast my turkey I place celery stalks, thick onion slices and fresh herbs, usually sage, rosemary, thyme and basil, underneath the turkey. Then I add about a cup or two of water or chicken broth to the roaster. The veggies act as a rack so it is easy to lift the turkey out.
After the turkey is roasted, I pour the accumulated juices into a pot and try to remove as much fat as possible (I have one of those cups with the spout on it). I simmer it for a little bit, then remove a cup or two and let it cool slightly and add a packet of brown gravy mix and continue to simmer it until it is the thickness that I want. I don't have any in my cupboard right now, but I think it is Schilling, or whichever company makes all the gravy packets. It always turns out good and I don't have to stress about lumpy flavorless gravy, and it is easy. I always wait to season it after it is the thickness so it doesn't get too salty. Oh and lots of black pepper.

 
Here's one I used a while back...

I doctored it up more with additional seasonings to suit our taste, but it was pretty good. You could definitely cut this in half cause it makes a huge amount of gravy.

Jeanne's Amazing Gravy

2 C. Swanson Chicken Broth
6 jars of premade turkey gravy
4 packets dry turkey gravy mix
Drippings from turkey (if available)
Sherry or cognac to taste
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large suacepan, heat chicken broth and premade gravy, stirring as it simmers. Add pan drippings if you have then and incorporate. Add 1/4 C. sherry or cognac. Turn up heat until mixture is just at the boiling point. Turn it down to simmer and slowly whisk in the dry gravy packets, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Adjust liquids to meet desired thickness. Season with salt and peer to taste. Note: I also added garlic, sage, and a little poultry seasoning to mine.

Jeanne Bice's Quacker Factory Christmas Cookbook

 
On Rachael Ray yesterday someone asked Rocco Dispirito about gravy. Read what he said:

Do you have any tips for gravy?

Rocco: "The point of gravy is to moisten your turkey, not drive the cook insane, which it happens to do often." Rocco uses Heinz Pork Gravy and combines it with the turkey drippings in a fat separator. "Bring it to a boil and season it. Make it your own. You'll get a really fast, really great gravy."

Hope this helps. So sorry about your Mom.

 
Hugz and Best Wishes Amanda, From us ....

My Partner went thru Non Hodgkins Lymphoma a couple of years back
I So Know Where you are with the Nausea/food thing,
All Our Best Wishes To You and Yours..
Hugz!
KiwiChris

 
What about doing some Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy and

freezing it. I'm planning to do that this weekend. Here's the recipe I've been eyeing...good reviews. Instead of putting it all in one container you could freeze the gravy in several smaller containers to have on hand for future use.

******************
http://www.recipelink.com/mf/21/3148

I am hosting Thanksgiving this year. I had been worrying and searching for gravy recipes because I cannot make a good gravy. This Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy changed all that. I already made it this week, it is really good! And the bonus is, it's in the freezer now and just has to be thawed and reheated on Thanksgiving. One thing out of the way! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

~Jen in NJ

Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy
from Woman's Day magazine, 11/16/99)
Make up to 3 months in advance and freeze in an airtight container. Thaw 2 days in refrigerator. Reheat in saucepan, whisking often.

4 turkey wings (about 3 lbs)
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
1 cup water
8 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup chopped carrot
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp. stick butter or margarine
1/2 tsp pepper*

Heat oven to 400 deg. Farenheit. Have ready a large roasting pan.

Arrange wings in a single layer in pan; scatter onions over top. Roast 1 1/4 hours until wings are browned.

Put wings and onions in a 5-to-6 qt. pot. Add water to roasting pan and stir to scrape up any brown bits on bottom. Add to pot. Add 6 cups broth (refrigerate remaining 2 cups), carrot and thyme. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours.

Remove wings to cutting board. When cool, pull off skin and meat. Discard skin; save meat for another use.

Strain broth into a 3-qt saucepan, pressing vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard vegetables; skim fat off broth, and discard. (If time permits, refrigerated broth overnight to make fat-skimming easier.)
Whisk flour into remaining 2 cups broth until blended and smooth.

Bring broth in pot to a gentle boil. Whisk in broth-flavored mixture and boil 3 to 4 minutes to thicken gravy and remove floury taste.

Stir in butter and pepper. Serve or pour into containers; refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 6 months.

This is supposed to make 8 cups of gravy. It made 7 cups for me. I refrigerated it overnight and the whole thing turned to gelatin. It was so easy to scrape the fat off the top.

My tip for straining the broth: I have a big colander with small holes, and a bowl that is bigger than the colander. I put the colander in the bowl and just poured everything in the colander. The broth strained right into the bowl and the vegetables stayed behind. It was easy and no mess. Any little bits of vegetable sank to the bottom. When I emptied the broth "gel" into a saucepan, I just had to scrape the bits of vegetable off the "top".

*This recipe make really good gravy but next time I will probably use less pepper.

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/21/3148

 
Has anyone done all wondra vs flour for gravy?

I usually make the broth 2 days ahead, but do the flour the day of. I was wondering with the make ahead gravy if using all wondra would be better. I have to make about 6 qts of gravy, my dad "drinks" it!! I have to send him home with a lot of leftovers.

Good luck Amanda--safe journey!

M

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top