On April 18, 2013 I was 42 weeks pregnant and I found out I was having a caesarian section. The same hour I also found out my Grandma had terminal lung cancer. Ten hours later my son was born. Three weeks later my Grandma Ruth died. Sometimes I think life goes like this, in ebbs and flows.
There hasn’t been a holiday since that I don’t think about my Grandma. She would have loved my boys. And whenever Thanksgiving and Christmas come around, I miss her a little bit more. She was a home economist married to a food scientist (that Breakstone’s sour cream you eat, my Grandad created) so her recipes were on point. For the sake of my cousins and siblings, I’ve decided to share some of her recipes so that they don’t get lost with time.
I’ll be honest, you probably know how to make gravy the exact same way, I don’t think my Grandma had the corner on the gravy market, but just in case you’ve been wondering how to make gravy, here you go!
In the South gravy is a beverage
My Notes on How to Make Gravy
Everyone cooks their turkey differently. If your turkey recipe doesn’t call for stock, make sure to add some to the gravy. Otherwise there’s only enough gravy for one person and that’s just mean (growing up the order of demand was: 1. gravy 2. stuffing 3. mashed potatoes 4. broccoli and cheese sauce. Turkey is at the bottom right in front of sweet potatoes).
If you don’t make stock from the giblets and instead choose to use chicken, this is the only chicken bouillon you should be using. You can also get a 16 ounce jar at Costco for $6.
My mom swears that cooking the turkey long enough is the key to good gravy. I talk about that here.
- ½ cup of flour
- 1 cup of water
- so many turkey drippings
- 1-3 cups of turkey or chicken stock (optional)
- salt
- pepper
- In mason jar combine flour and water and shake until combined.
- Place roasting pan on medium low heat on stove and while whisking, slowly pour flour-water mixture into drippings.
- Continue whisking as it thickens.
- If you did not add stock while the turkey cooked, you may need to add stock at this point. Start with one cup, tasting as you go until the gravy has the right consistency and flavor.
- Season to taste
You don't need a culinary degree to make sophisticated food. I want to improve your food education. Sometimes I travel and wear new clothes, and I'll tell you about that, too.
We miss her, but this is a good way to bring her close again.
thanks pops.