Turkey Giblet Gravy

Method

1. Prep covered

   Start the stock when the bird goes in the oven. Put the neck, heart, gizzard and liver in a saucepan with the onion, carrot, celery, bay, peppercorns and parsley stems. Cover with the water.

2. Simmer 3 hours · gizzard and neck fully tender

   Bare simmer for 3 hours, skimming the foam in the first ten minutes. A lazy bubble every few seconds, never a rolling boil: a hard boil emulsifies the fat into the liquid and clouds it, and it is what makes long-simmered giblets taste harsh. Top up with water if they stop being covered. Two hours gives you stock; three gets you there, with the liquid carrying real body.

3. Prep 4-5 cups

   Strain and keep it warm. You want 4 to 5 cups. Pull the neck meat off the bone and finely chop it with the heart, gizzard and liver. Discard the vegetables; they have given everything they have.

4. Prep fat skimmed

   When the turkey comes out, rest it and pour the roasting pan contents into a fat separator or a bowl. Let the fat rise, then skim it off. Keep ¼ cup of the fat for the roux and all of the dark drippings underneath for the gravy.

5. Heat every brown bit loose

   Deglaze the roasting pan. Set it across two burners over medium, add a cup of the giblet stock, and scrape every brown bit loose with a wooden spoon. That fond is the difference between gravy and thickened stock. Add it to the drippings.

6. Heat 3-4 min · light blonde

   Make the roux, and season it. In a wide saucepan, heat the ¼ cup of turkey fat, whisk in the flour, and cook 3 to 4 minutes to a light blonde. Longer gives a nuttier gravy with less thickening power; this is the trade to play with. Then add the mustard powder, seasoned salt and cayenne and cook 30 seconds more, whisking. Spices bloomed in the fat taste like part of the gravy; the same spices stirred in at the end taste like dust on top of it.

   4m
7. Simmer smooth

   Build it. Add the warm stock a cup at a time, whisking each addition smooth before the next. Then add the deglazed drippings and the thyme.

8. Simmer 10-15 min · holds a line drawn through it

   Simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until it coats a spoon and holds a line drawn through it. It will thicken slightly more as it sits.

   15m
9. Simmer 5 min · warmed through

   Add the chopped giblets and neck meat and simmer 5 minutes more so they warm through and give up their flavor.

   5m
10. Finish seasoned

    Season at the end. Salt carefully; the drippings are already salty and vary every year. Plenty of black pepper. Finish with a splash of vinegar or sherry, which lifts the whole thing out of flatness.