Author: Susanne at dishwithme.com
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This gravy, though!!! Holy Moly, it really is the best freaking holiday gravy, EVER! At least, the best I have ever had. The fam loves it, too.
Gravy just seems to scream comfort food. Warm, creamy, savory and flavorful, it compliments many things, like; potatoes, turkey, dressing, etc.. And, Since it is possibly going to be added to a variety of the foods on your plate, you want it to be pretty darned tasty. This gravy is that. Tasty. SOOO tasty.
It may appear that there are a lot of steps to making this gravy, but truly, it is pretty easy. Most of the time for this recipe is cook time, not prep time. I really don’t think you will be sorry you made this recipe.
And, while it is called holiday gravy, it really is good any time of the year.
HELPFUL HINTS FOR BEST FREAKING HOLIDAY GRAVY, EVER!
You’re going to be working with some hot pots/pans, be sure to use really good pot holders.
The dried herbs/seasonings can be replaced with fresh, if desired. I have a rosemary plant, so I ALWAYS use fresh rosemary.
If you need to thicken your gravy, it is VERY important to first temper your thickener prior to adding to your gravy or it may turn out lumpy. Tempering is easy, simply make your flour/water mixture in a small cup and then to that cup, add a few spoons to your hot gravy and stir well.
LINKS THAT WILL PAIR WELL WITH THIS RECIPE
My recipe for Mom’s Quick Homemade Cranberry Sauce will pair nicely with this recipe as part of a holiday dinner.
LINKS FOR PRODUCTS USED
- Use a large baking sheet like this one.
- You’ll also need a large pot like mine.
- Here is the colander I use.
- I use Orrington Farms broth bases.
Equipment
- Large baking tray
- Large cooking pot
- Colander
Ingredients
- 1 package Chicken wings 8 pack
- Celery each stalk cut into 2 or 3 pieces
- Yellow onion cut into 6 or 8 pieces
- Baby carrots
- 1 head Fresh garlic each clove peeled, but left whole
- 2 sprigs Fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried
- 2 teaspoons powdered sage
- 2 teaspoons Dried thyme
- 1 Tablespoon Chicken broth base I use Orrington Farms
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 25 grinds Freshly ground pepper
- 64 ounces Chicken broth 2 – 32 ounce cartons, I prefer bone broth
- 6 Tablespoons Real butter
- 6 Tablespoons All purpose flour
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 450°F
- Line a baking sheet with 3 pieces of aluminum foil, making sure to cover the edges.
- Place the chicken wings on the foil lined baking sheet. Place into a pre-heated oven and bake for 40 minutes, flipping half way through the cooking process.
- While the wings are roasting, add the remaining ingredients to a large stock pot, EXCEPT the butter and flour. The butter and flour are for later.
- On high heat, bring the ingredients in the stock pot to a boil. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and let it continue to simmer until the wings are finished roasting.
- Once the wings are finished roasting, remove them from the oven and, using tongs, place the wings into the stockpot with the veggies and broth.
- Reduce the heat on the oven to 375°F. With the oven rack in the lowest position, cover the stock pot with a lid and place into the oven. Bake for 1.5 hours.
- Once the ingredients have roasted in the oven for an hour and a half, use potholders to carefully remove the stockpot from the oven and set on the stove top to cool a bit.
- With tongs, remove the chicken wings to a plate. Once cooled, remove the good pieces of meat and set aside. My fur baby gets the questionable pieces of chicken. This meat can be added to the gravy later, or used in your dressing/stuffing. I use it for my dressing.
- Place a very large bowl into the sink and then place a colander on top of the bowl. Using potholders, carefully empty the contents of the stockpot into the colander. The veggies will remain in the colander and the broth will go into the bowl. Pick through the cooked veggies and pluck out the pieces of cooked garlic. Place the cooked garlic into a small bowl and, using a fork or spoon, mash it up into a paste.
- You can either discard the cooked veggies or use them as a side dish.
- In a very large skillet, on medium-high heat, add the butter and melt. Once butter is melted, add the flour, stirring constantly. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until just slightly golden. Basically, you are making a roux.
- Add the garlic paste to the roux.
- Lower the heat to medium. To the roux, add the broth a little at a time, about 4 batches, to desired consistency. Keep stirring to keep the gravy smooth.
- If the gravy is too thick, thin by adding some chicken broth, a tiny bit at a time. If the gravy is too thin, in a cup, make a mixture of 2 teaspoons flour and 2 teaspoons water, stirring until smooth. To the flour water mixture, add a couple spoons of the hot gravy (this is called tempering). Stir and add another spoon or two of the hot gravy, mixing well. Now add it to the gravy and stir well. If you were to just add the flour and water without first tempering, it would make your gravy lumpy.
- You can add the pieces of chicken meat to the gravy now, or save it for your dressing.
- Taste to see if any additional seasonings are needed.
- Viola! You have just created the best freaking holiday gravy, ever!