The Best Gravy in the Whole World | Gluten-free and Dairy-free

Welcome back to Flawed yet Functional! Christmas is almost upon us, and I have one more holiday recipe to share with you to take your holiday gathering over the top: the best gravy in the whole world. It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, Paleo, and AIP AND it will knock your socks off. Let me show you how to make it!

Ode to Gravy

I have loved gravy for as long as I can remember. Given a choice when I was young, I would only fill my plate with mashed potatoes and gravy at any gathering. Beef, chicken, or turkey gravy, I’m not picky. I’ll eat it all! A few years ago, Dan and I learned how to make gravy following a more traditional method from fresh turkey stock and including the organ meat.

Wait! Don’t stop reading because I said organ meat!! 

Organ meat takes this gravy up several notches. Now that I’ve made gravy this way, there’s no turning back. Any other gravy doesn’t have the richness and complexity. It’s truly the only way to make gravy.

Fresh Turkey Stock

Begin the gravy process the morning of or night before your special event. Remove the neck, wing tips (they’ll burn anyway on the grill), extra neck fat, pope’s nose, and all organs (kidney, heart, gizzard) and place them in a stock pot. 

Add aromatics, herbs, and water then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 4-6 hours or cook on low in a slow cooker overnight.

Making the stock serves three purposes:

1. Provides delicious robust turkey stock to add to the gravy.
2. Cooks the organ meat so it is ready to be added to the gravy.
3. Gives you extra turkey stock for another day!

Keep the Drippings

Always use a roasting pan to catch any drippings as you cook the turkey. Sometimes, there are a lot of drippings and sometimes not, but no matter, use whatever is caught in the pan. Be sure to scrape all the browned bits off the bottom of the roasting pan when de-glazing. Those bits are full of robust flavor!

Make Gravy in the Roasting Pan

For Thanksgiving or Christmas or any other gathering, you don’t need more dishes to clean up, right? Do yourself a favor, make the gravy right in the roasting pan. Yes, you can put your roasting pan on the stove top. I give you permission. It will be ok.

De-glaze the pan by pouring a half cup of wine into the pan over medium-high heat. Use a metal whisk to scrape off all the browned bits and gather up the drippings.

Remove the organs and neck from the stockpot, mince finely then add to roasting pan. Pour enough turkey stock into roasting pan to get the volume of gravy needed. 

Now it’s time to get the flavor where you like before thickening and serving. Taste and add salt and pepper. I like my gravy heavily peppered and slightly over-salted. Gravy will lose some of its potency when poured over the turkey or potatoes, so don’t feel bad for being a bit heavy-handed with the salt.

The final step is thickening the gravy. Use tapioca starch or arrowroot powder as a thickener to make this gravy gluten and grain free. These thickeners are tricky. Follow this method for perfect thickening every time.

1. In a small container, mix 1 tablespoon of arrowroot powder and 1 tablespoon of water (water is approximate, just enough to dissolve the powder) until dissolved.
2. Bring gravy to a boil then remove from heat.
3. Pour dissolved arrowroot powder over hot gravy, mix in immediately and thoroughly. The gravy will begin to thicken immediately.
4. Continue adding arrowroot powder in this method, 1 tablespoon at a time until your desired level of thickness is reached.
5. Caution: Do not over-thicken! The consistency will turn snot-like, very gross. Likely, you will only need 1 or 2 tablespoons.

Look at that rich, delectable goodness! I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the best gravy in the whole world. The depth of flavor will blow your mind, and you’ll never return to store-bought gravy!