Food Recipes Sauces, Condiments and Preserves Gravy Super-Savory Turkey Gravy 5.0 (2) 2 Reviews Oyster sauce adds tons of umami flavor in this elevated turkey gravy for Thanksgiving. By Ann Taylor Pittman Ann Taylor Pittman For 20 years, Ann Taylor Pittman built a career of creating healthy recipes at Cooking Light magazine, where she most recently served as Executive Editor. She is the recipient of two James Beard Foundation Awards: a feature writing award for "Mississippi Chinese Lady Goes Home to Korea" and a cookbook award for The New Way to Cook Light. She is now a freelancer specializing in recipe development, writing, and video. Ann lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with her husband, their 13-year-old twin boys, one big dog, and one little dog. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on October 21, 2024 Tested by Jasmine Smith Tested by Jasmine Smith Jasmine Smith is a recipe developer and tester at Dotdash Meredith Corporation. In addition to her work in test kitchens, Jasmine is a freelance culinary producer for a variety of food festivals. Meet the Food & Wine Test Kitchen Save Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Chris Simpson / FOOD STYLING by MARGARET MONROE DICKEY / PROP STYLING by AUDREY DAVIS Active Time: 15 mins Total Time: 20 mins Servings: 12 Jump to recipe Gravy is a uniting element on the Thanksgiving table. It’s perfect for drizzling over juicy white meat and rich dark meat alike, brings savory notes when pooled on top of a mound of mashed potatoes, and invites you to dip a tender yeast roll into it. Ann Taylor Pittman uses two smart techniques to produce a gravy that is beautifully smooth and flavorful: First, she stirs umami-forward oyster sauce into the turkey drippings to boost taste and introduce salty-sweet complexity. She also relies on beurre manié to thicken and enrich the pan sauce. Beurre manié is similar to a roux, and a no-fail, lump-free way to thicken gravy. Combine equal parts softened butter and flour, and slowly whisk the mixture into the gravy until it thickens into a rich, silky consistency. If you're one of those people who is anxious about making gravy, try thinking of it as a pan sauce — one that uses the drippings and browned bits from a turkey cooked over aromatics in a rimmed baking sheet instead of from a skillet-seared steak. Once the turkey is done, build the sauce from the drippings. Release the fond (those browned bits) by pouring sherry into the sheet pan and scraping with a wooden spoon, then use that liquid as the backbone of the gravy. To keep things simple, use store-bought chicken stock to add volume to the gravy. It’s a trick you’ll want to use for future weeknight meals with pork, steak, or chicken. You can use drippings from any roast turkey for this gravy, but drippings from our Sesame-Ginger Spatchcocked Turkey deliver even more umami-packed flavor for what is arguably the best Thanksgiving dinner ever. Frequently Asked Questions What can I add to turkey gravy to make it taste better? We amp up our gravy with herbs, fortified wine, and oyster sauce, but any of these other ingredients can also rev up flavor in a gravy or pan sauce: balsamic or sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard, miso, olive or caper brine, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, minced anchovies or anchovy paste, MSG, Maggi seasoning, Marmite, or mushroom powder.Fresh herbs such as thyme, rosemary, and tarragon will also enhance the flavor of turkey gravy. If you find that your gravy is still bland, add a pinch of kosher salt, which will help bring out the flavors of the poultry and herbs. For brightness, add citrus zest (from lemons or oranges) or a splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice. What is beurre manié? Beurre manié is a simple and reliable way to bring gravy to a beautifully smooth and perfect consistency. To make it, mix equal parts room temperature softened butter with flour, then whisk it into your gravy as it simmers and reduces to slightly thicken (while remaining lump-free). What's key here is to whisk just a small amount of the beurre manié into the gravy at a time, and keep a close look at the consistency to avoid adding too much and making it too thick. You can make beurre manié well in advance; store it in the refrigerator and pull some out to let it soften before using it. Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen For the best flavor, choose oyster sauce over oyster-flavored sauce. Megachef and Lee Kum Kee Premium (not regular Lee Kum Kee) are great brands. Make ahead Store the beurre manié from step 1 in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days or in the freezer up to three months; bring to room temperature before using. Allow the gravy to cool completely to room temperature before storing. Place in an airtight container, and store in the fridge for up to three days. Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 1/2 cup unsalted butter (4 ounces), cut into cubes and softened 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/8 ounces) Roast turkey drippings 1/4 cup dry sherry 3 to 3 1/2 cups unsalted turkey or chicken stock 2 tablespoons oyster sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee Premium or Megachef) 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, plus more for garnish 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish Directions Toss butter with flour in a small bowl until butter is coated; mash and knead together using a small silicone spatula or your hands until well combined. Divide mixture into teaspoon-size pieces; set aside. While turkey roasting pan or sheet pan is still hot, pour turkey drippings through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a 4-cup measuring cup. (Discard solids.) Add sherry to pan. Stir and scrape pan bottom using a wooden spatula to loosen any browned bits; add to drippings mixture, and let stand 5 minutes. Skim fat, and discard. Add stock to measuring cup to equal 4 cups. Pour drippings mixture into a medium saucepan; whisk in oyster sauce, chopped thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat to medium, and maintain a simmer. Gradually whisk in butter-flour mixture, a few pieces at a time, whisking until butter mixture melts completely before adding more, about 3 minutes total. (Gravy should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.) Stir in chopped parsley. Serve garnished with additional thyme and parsley. Originally appeared in Food & Wine magazine, November 2024 Rate It Print