Gravy is hugely important to any roast, yet so often it’s an afterthought. You can make homemade turkey stock for added intensity, but you can just about get away with using a liquid stock concentrate in with the giblets.  Do yourself a favour and make the gravy the day before. Then all you do is stir in the extra meat juices at the end of cooking time and Ta Da! Stunningly tasty gravy.

Makes: 1 litre.
Effort Level: easy
Preparation & Cooking Time: 2 1/2 hours
Shelf Life: 3 days in fridge. 3 months in freezer

Ingredients:
Giblets from turkey (don’t include the liver)
1 litre turkey stock (or water + 3 tbsp Knorr liquid chicken stock)
1 large onion
1 carrot
1 stick celery
2 bay leaves
Small handful of fresh sage and thyme
1 tsp Cross & Blackwell browning
6 tbsp reserved chicken or turkey fat – otherwise use vegetable oil
6 tbsp plain flour

Equipment:
Chopping board and sharp knife
Large saucepan and lid
Whisk or hand held mixer
Wide measuring jug
Sieve

N.B: Yes, you will need 6 tbsp each of flour & fat per 1 litre of stock
(+ roasted meat juices from the tin), if you want gravy thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and not have a watery mess on your plate.

Here’s What You Do:
Roughly chop the onion, carrots and celery and tip into a large saucepan with the gizzards/giblets. Add a handful of the herbs and pour on the homemade turkey stock or 1 litre cold water and 3 tablespoons of Knorr liquid chicken stock.

Cover with a lid and bring the stock up to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and leave to simmer gently for 2 hours.

Take the stock off the heat and strain through a sieve into a wide measuring jug.

Rinse out the saucepan, then return it to a low heat.

Melt 6 tablespoons of the reserved chicken or turkey fat (if you don’t have, just use  vegetable oil – but not butter) in the saucepan.

Add 6 tablespoons of plain flour and stir well over a low heat for several minutes to cook out the flour.

Start whisking in the hot stock bit by bit, beating well between each addition to keep the gravy smooth and lump free. Next add 1 tsp gravy browning to give a rich colour, then increase the heat and bring the gravy up to the boil for a few minutes, then take off the heat.

Cover the top with cling film to stop a skin forming then leave to cool before storing in the fridge, or somewhere very cold.

Next day, add the turkey juices from the roasting tin then season with salt and pepper.

Serve.