Thanksgiving is just around the corner. You better get to the supermarket to stock up on basic ingredients needed for your Thanksgiving Day feast before the shelves are picked clean. One item that always seems to be on short supply are those little turkey gravy packets. You know, the ones that say McCormick on the label. That little packet is going to serve as one of the basic ingredients for this turkey gravy recipe.
As a stand alone product McCormick makes a suitable gravy mix for any Thanksgiving dinner. However, this easy recipe will infuse a standard McCormick turkey gravy with a little extra turkey flavor. To get better turkey flavor out of the gravy, this recipe calls for creating a broth out of the turkey neck, heart, liver and kidney. If you are a little squeamish about using turkey organs in a gravy, a then you can leave these out. But the turkey neck for the broth is not optional. Make the broth with the neck, you will not regret it!
Making this Thanksgiving turkey gravy is an all day affair, but it is very easy, once you get the pot of water boiling with the various turkey parts. Here are the ingredients that you will need for this kicked up version of the McCormick Thanksgiving Day turkey gravy:
Ingredients for Thanksgiving Turkey Gravy:
A McCormick Turkey Mix packet
One Onion cut in quarters
2 peeled carrots
3 stalks of celery 1 pot of water
Turkey neck, kidney, liver, and giblets (or you can use these in the stuffing and not in the gravy)
Pinch of salt, pepper, ground thyme, or poultry seasoning
Preparation steps for Thanksgiving Turkey Gravy:
1. First boil a pot of water just after you put your turkey in the oven
2. Lower the heat to simmer and add the spices. Go easy on the thyme as it has a strong flavor and you do not want to overdo it.
3. Add the vegetables and turkey parts.
4. After 15 minutes I like to remove the turkey organs. Leave the neck in the simmering water.
5. Simmer for about as long as the turkey cooks in the oven, adding a little water as needed and salt to taste.
After the the pot of water with turkey parts has simmered for a little while it will develop into a nice turkey broth. Pour about a cup and a half of the broth off through a strainer. Use this broth to make your turkey gravy per the instructions on the little McCormick packet. If you have extra broth, you can freeze it for another day to make a delicious soup.
How to Thicken a Thanksgiving Turkey Gravy
If you think your gravy is a little thin, then mix about a teaspoon of cornstarch with a quarter cup of cold water. Mix the cornstarch well with the cold water. Then gradually add water and cornstarch mix to the gravy to thicken it.
If you do not have cornstarch, then you could use a little flour, but use a limited amount of flour since you might end up tasting it in the gravy. The gravy will also thicken slightly when it cools, so even if it looks thin and watery, it may still turn out just fine after it cools.