Turkey Giblet Gravy

 
 

Dalton Jones, Private Chef, Durango, CO

Dalton (@daltycooks) is now a private chef in Durango. Prior to moving to Durango, he was an executive chef in Denver and he also spent nearly three years at Husk in Nashville where he worked as a butcher and sous chef. Before working in restaurants, Dalton was actually working as a paramedic in New Mexico. So besides saving your life, he knows a thing or two about delicious food.

Growing up, my mom would take the giblets from the turkey and put them on the stove in seasoned stock the morning during Thanksgiving dinner prep. My dad and I would snack on the neck, gizzard, liver, and heart while eagerly awaiting supper. The now gibletized stock would be combined with the turkey drippings and turned into a delicious brown gravy; just the thing to bring the entire meal together.

Giblets add amazing depth of flavor to the gravy. You can simply infuse the flavor into the stock, chop the giblets into the gravy for a bit more texture, or snack on the pieces to tide yourself over until dinner. I have added my own spin on the process to maximize the bang-for-your-buck flavor in this giblet gravy recipe. Put this over your mashed potatoes and dig in!

- Dalton Jones

Yield:

Ingredients:

  • 1 quart low sodium turkey or chicken stock

  • 1 packet of turkey giblets

  • 1/4 large onion

  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled

  • 4 sprigs thyme

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 1 tablespoon high heat oil (such as canola or grapeseed)

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • 4 tablespoons flour

  • Soy sauce, to taste

  • Kosher salt, to taste

  • Black pepper, to taste

  • Mashed potatoes (optional, click for recipe)

Method:

  1. Remove the packet of turkey giblets from inside of turkey, rinse, and dry. This will most likely be a gizzard, heart, neck, and liver.

  2. Heat high temp oil in a saucepan, and, once hot, add the giblets. Sear over medium/high heat until well browned.

  3. Add the garlic cloves, onion (no need to dice it), thyme, and bay leaf to the pot. Continue to sauté until a little color develops on the onion and garlic.

  4. Once the garlic and onion have some color, add in the stock. Bring to a boil and reduce to a high simmer; reduce liquid by ½. We use low sodium stick to allow for reduction and concentration of flavor without becoming too salty.

  5. Once reduced, strain the contents into a bowl through a coarse strainer. Wash the pot for reuse.

  6. No more than 1 hour before meal time, add 2 Tbs butter to a pan on medium/low heat, and melt. Then add in flour. Stir your roux (butter and flour mixture) to keep it free of clumps. Cook the roux until brown and lightly nutty smelling. 

  7. Slowly add ½ of the giblet stock to your roux while whisking. Use a rubber spatula to scrapes the bottom edges of the pot so that all of the roux gets incorporated. Bring this to a light boil while whisking. The gravy will start to become quite thick. Now whisk in the remaining stock and bring to a boil, while whisking, for 2-3 minutes. This allows all of the flour to activate and thicken / stabilize the gravy.

  8. Season gravy 1-2 tsp of soy sauce first, and then with salt and pepper to taste. It can be held, covered, in a warm place for about an hour, and gently reheated (while whisking!) just before serving.