In a perfect Thanksgiving gravy world, you roast a turkey surrounded by onions and other vegetables. You remove the bird and the vegetables from the roasting pan (good luck finding a place to stash a giant piece of poultry and a bunch of drippy vegetables), and then scrape up the bits from the bottom of the pan. You then use those fatty bits to create a roux by adding flour and cooking it until toasty brown. Then you stir in turkey stock and allow it to heat and thicken to your liking.

If this order of operations sounds like a holiday nightmare, full of mess and last-minute fuss, welcome. This post is for you.

What’s the secret to killer gravy? Depth of flavor achieved through roasted poultry and vegetables.

What’s the best kind of gravy? The kind you make ahead.

Is it possible to have both? It is! It is!

Today I am going to share my two-step method that allows you to make gravy ahead without sacrificing that just-roasted flavor.

Up front, I want you to know, as with most things related to special holiday meals, we are going to go to a bit of trouble. However, this is the kind of trouble that can be scheduled into your busy life. I promise.

Step One: Make Thanksgiving Stock
Thanksgiving Stock is different from standard homemade chicken stock because we are going to start by browning some poultry wings in the oven (you can use chicken or turkey wings, whichever is easiest for you). While those brown, we are going to brown large chunks of onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in our stock pot. As they brown, they will lay down layers of fond, which is a fancy word for those brown bits of flavor magic that get deposited when we cook.

Once the wings are browned, we will add them to the stock pot and scrape all that gorgeous juice from the sheet tray into the pot with the wings and vegetables. We will then add water to the stock pot and let it simmer for three to four hours yielding a rich, flavorful stock. Now, we store this in our freezer for up to six months, and guard it with our life.

Step Two: Make Gravy
As early as four days ahead, we are going to make our gravy. You will melt some butter in a pot, add flour, whisk it together and allow the roux to cook until it is beautiful shade of deep brown. Next you will add your thawed Thanksgiving Stock full of all that deep-roasted flavor, stir it, let it simmer, and watch the gravy thicken until it is to your liking.

The best part of this equation is that you can store your finished Thanksgiving Gravy in the fridge until the big day. When you are ready to eat, simply warm the gravy over low heat until it’s nice and hot.

Ingredients

For the Thanksgiving Stock…

2 pounds chicken or turkey wings
olive oil
kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 large onion, unpeeled, cut into large chunks
2 large carrots, unpeeled, cut into large chunks
2 celery stalks, cut into large chunks
1 head garlic, unpeeled, halved crosswise
1/2 cup white wine
a few sprigs of fresh thyme

For the Gravy…

4 cups Thanksgiving stock (from above)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
kosher salt and ground black pepper

Instructions

For the Thanksgiving Stock…

To make the Thanksgiving stock, preheat the oven to 425. Spread the chicken (or turkey) wings in a single layer on a sheet tray. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Roast the wings until deeply golden brown. You want dark, crispy bits to be deposited onto the sheet tray and the skin to be crisp. This will take 45 -60 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of your wings.
While the wings roast, heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Throw in the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and give it a good stir. Allow the vegetables to cook undisturbed for several minutes. We are looking for them to brown and leave behind some color in the pan. You can flip them to encourage browning on all sides, but if you stir them too frequently, they will not brown. Leave them alone for a bit.
Once the vegetables are nicely browned, add the thyme, 2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and the white wine. Scrape up the browned bits and allow the wine to evaporate. Add two gallons water to the stock pot.
When the wings are finished roasting, add them to the pot and scrape up all those delicious browned bits from the baking sheet. You can add a splash of water to the pan to help loosen the bits.
Bring the water to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for four hours. Scoop out the large pieces of meat and vegetables and discard. Strain the stock into large pot and allow to cool. Once it is cooled, you can ladle it into smaller quart containers. Store for up to a week in the fridge, or freeze and store for up to six months.
When it is time to make the gravy, you will only need four cups of stock. However, I always keep a pot of Thanksgiving stock warm on the stove to loosen up the mashed potatoes while they reheat, or to add to anything that is needing a splash of moisture. It always comes in handy. You can use any remaining stock for soups throughout the season.

For the Make-Ahead Gravy

Heat the butter in a medium sauce-pan until melted.
Add in the flour and whisk constantly, cooking until the roux is a deep golden brown. This will take 3-5 minutes.
Whisking constantly, ladle in the Thanksgiving stock, a bit at a time, stirring to incorporate.
Allow the gravy to come to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until thick and reduced. This can take up to 15 minutes or longer. Once the gravy is to your liking, add the Worcestershire sauce, and taste it. It will need salt, but the amount it needs will depend on how seasoned your stock is. Add salt and pepper, tasting as you go, until the gravy comes to life and makes you want a bite of mashed potatoes or a slice of turkey.
You can store the gravy in the fridge for up to a week! When it is time to serve the gravy, gently heat it over the stove. If it seems too thick, add a bit of stock. If it seems too thin, allow it to simmer and reduce a bit more.

Thanksgiving Stock and Make-Ahead Gravy