Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I have made delicious gravy all my life and my mother and grandmother before me and my daughters and granddaughters too! We don't sweat the small stuff. We use a few drops of Kitchen Bouquet to darken it. I always make a cream gravy rather than the gravy from stock or broth. We add the giblets to the gravy and the neck meat to the dressing.

I have lived in Missouri (St. Louis) all my life. We always called the second meal of the day "Lunch", and the last meal of the day, "Supper". Although Dinner and Supper could be used interchangeably My husband's family did the same thing.. I notice my older siblings are now calling it "dinner" when they invite us over. I have always used the word Supper unless we are going out to a formal meal, then I will call it Dinner.

We have always used the word soda. My uncle used to call it sodie.

"THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE RECIPE: Immediately put half the gravy into a storage container, let it cool down, then hide it in the refrigerator so that you'll have enough for pot pie or hot turkey sandwiches on Saturday."

betteirene- love that piece of advice. *L*

Well, I must say @maryannm (and echoers) and @betteirene gave some great answers.

Me, I have so much pre-cooking going on, I usually don't get to the stock beforehand. Plus, I like the way the aroma of gravy fills the house as you make it on T-day.

So, I just throw the neck and gizzards in a sauce pot on the stove first thing in the a.m., with all the celery and onion end bits from making the stuffing, a half carrot, and some peppercorns, bay leaf and a pinch of sea salt. (Note: DO NOT include the liver, as it will make the stock bitter.) I let that simmer gently all day, and add more water as necessary.

If you go this route, the key is scoring numerous cross-hatch slices into the neck and gizzards to extract as much flavor as possible. In the last hour of cooking, I scoop pan drippings with a ladle (and strain for fat), and add that to the stock - a little at a time - stirring and tasting as I go. Once the gravy is rich enough, I add white white wine (or sometimes, vodka) to add depth of flavor and cut through the fat.

Then I add fresh herbs to the pot (like sage and thyme - you can add other herbs or spices to your liking, of course)). From there I simmer and let the fat and alcohol mingle and cook off together for another 20-30 minutes. Stirring and tasting, and adding more drippings, herbs, seasoning or booze, as necessary for balance.

When the flavor is perfect, thicken with a golden roux of butter and flour, that has been diluted with gravy until smooth. Simmer and stir for 5-10 minutes longer, adding more roux, if necessary.

Important Tip: I always have at least 32 oz. of boxed or canned chicken stock on hand (turkey would be better of course), in the event that the gravy is to rich and needs diluting, or when more liquid is needed. This has saved me more than once. Also, it can make extra gravy in a pinch for leftovers, in the event some crazy fool tossed the extra gravy down the drain while doing dishes, which happens more often than you would imagine. Just add saved drippings, a turkey wing and/or bones and some skin from the carcass, and aromatics (onion, garlic, celery, carrot, herbs, spices). Simmer 20-30 minutes (or more, if you have time), thicken w/ roux, season to taste, and you're all set.

Hope this helps. Happy Thanksgiving!!

I too believed the Progress Market's muffuletta to be better than Central's. I wasn't impressed with Serio's. Current favorite is Napolean House, preferable warmed.

I was at someone's house for Thanksgiving one year when the phone rang and it was a call for one of the other guests. There had been a fire at his sister's house, caused by the deep frying of the turkey. The house burned to the ground and was a total loss. There will no turkey frying at my house! I would, however, be willing to taste a turkey that SOMEONE ELSE has fried.

When this was posted, I put it in the "to make immediately" file because a) corn chowder is my faaaavorite fall/winter comfort food, and b) I've been trying to reproduce the "sopa de elote" at the Mexican Food Factory restaurant in Marlton, NJ. (I'm writing that on the off chance that someone reads this who knows the soup I'm referring to and is able to help in my quest). In making this soup, I upped the amount of corn and onion for a thicker texture. I also added chili powder for a hint of smoky flavor. The results were great, especially garnished with queso fresco and a dollop of sour cream. It's the closest I've come to that restaurant dish. I'll definitely be adding this to the rotation! Thanks for posting.

As far as the oil goes cost wise, it is used several times. Its strained and put in the garage refrigerator. Peanut oil is much different than other oils. We used to fry them for our church parishioners and youth group on New Years--upwards of 30 birds. There is no oil retained in the bird, thus not oily. The correct color should be a dark golden brown or mahogany and no, its not like fried chicken. Much better. I'm like the other writer upthread, if you had it and did not like it, then it wasn't cooked right. At a luncheon last week our bird was gone in minutes and the roasted bird was left over.

Call me chicken, but I'll probably never deep fry a turkey. I've had fried turkey before and it was tasty, but didn't seem worth the danger or the expense (of buying a turkey frier) when roasted turkey can be really tasty too, and I'm confident in my turkey-roasting abilities.

The best turkey I ever had was one that had been slow-smoked all day long. Now THAT I might attempt some day, once I get a smoker. But fried turkey... I'll eat it if someone else makes it for me.

My dad and brother attempted to fry our bird a few years ago... it was the first and last time they tried! The bird was golden brown when they took it out at the recommended tie, but when we cut into it... way underdone, much to our chagrin and disgust. My mom didn't trust any attempts to try to cook it further, so we fell back on the ham (as well as the chicken that, for whatever reason, my nana had baked - thank goodness she did!). It's too bad, as we were psyched to try fried turkey after all the hype we'd seen on Food Network and the like about how wonderful it was. We're just too skittish to try it again!

Another saftey tip for folks in Socal (or other warm weather spots), flip flops are not proper attire for deep frying.

As good as they look and sound, I just can't get past the thought of spending the money to buy the fryer and the peanut oil(which is expensive),just to fry a bird on T-giving. I'm not a big turkey fan, so it would definitely be a once or twice a year thing.