Thanksgiving Gravy Recipe

Photo: Tyler Florence

Thanksgiving Sauce
Makes 1 ½ quarts 

Why is it that every photo of Thanksgiving dinner shows the gravy on the turkey, when everyone really loves to put the gravy all over their plate? We set out to make a gravy that is lightened-up, that doesn’t rely on heavy roux or cornstarch for thickening, but is flavorful and goes with every part of the dinner. Our key was to use pureed vegetables for flavor and body, and that inspired us to make a meat-free version, too, so that vegetarians could also enjoy pure Thanksgiving in a bite.

Turkey backbone
1 turkey neck bone
1?4 cup grapeseed or vegetable oil
1?4 pound bacon, cut into lardons
2 cups diced onions
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced butternut squash
1 garlic clove, chopped
Kosher salt
Reserved heart and giblets from the turkey (do not use the liver)
5 thyme sprigs
4 sage sprigs
Freshly ground black pepper

Cut the turkey backbone and neck bone into 2-inch pieces. Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat and add the oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the bones and brown, turning as the sides become a deep caramel, about 10 minutes. Remove the turkey bones from the pot and set them aside, then add the bacon  lardons to the pot and turn the heat down to medium. Cook the bacon until it is rendered and crisp. Add the onions, carrots, celery, squash, and garlic to the bacon and caramelize the vegetables, about 10 minutes.

Continuously scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to incorporate the brown fond. Once the vegetables caramelize, add a few pinches of salt. Add the turkey bones back to the pot with the heart, giblets, thyme, and sage, followed by 4 cups of water. Bring to a simmer, then turn to low and cook for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are very soft, then turn off the heat.

Remove the bones, giblets, heart, and tough herb stems and discard. Transfer the liquid, vegetables, and bacon to a blender and puree until smooth. If necessary, thin the sauce with hot water until you reach the consistency of gravy. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

More recipes from Tyler Florence:
Stretchy Mac and Cheese
One-Pan Lasagna