We’ve crafted this traditional gravy to be everything it should be – luxuriously smooth, deeply savory, and brimming with the essence of your roasted bird. By using the often-overlooked giblets, we’re extracting maximum flavor and following time-honored techniques to create a gravy that’s truly special. You’ll make a gravy so good, you might catch your guests sneaking spoonfuls straight from the boat.
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🎥 Watch: Giblet Gravy Recipe
What Is Giblet Gravy?
Classic Giblet Gravy is a sauce made from the turkey drippings that are released as the bird cooks and the giblets. Giblets are the edible organs of the turkey, the heart, liver, sometimes the kidneys, gizzard, and neck. They are the parts that you remove once you have thawed your turkey from inside the cavity. They are loaded with rich flavor and nutrients and are the secret ingredient to making the richest turkey gravy recipe.
The gravy is thickened with flour and seasoned with fresh thyme and rosemary for the perfect Thanksgiving gravy. You can use this dressing on everything from a Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey to Traeger Smoked Turkey with Stuffing or Smoked Spatchcock Turkey to homestyle mashed potatoes and cornbread dressing.
Turkey Giblet Gravy Ingredients
You know those bits you remove from the turkey or chicken before you cook it? Those are parts Grandma would have never wasted; they have a rich depth of flavor and are the key ingredient for classic Thanksgiving gravy.
- Turkey giblets – the liver, heart, and gizzard
- Turkey neck
- Onion
- Pinch of salt – we use Kosher salt when cooking
- Turkey stock or Chicken broth
- Fresh Thyme
- Fresh Rosemary
- Unsalted Butter
- Flour
- Freshly ground black pepper
How to Make Giblet Gravy
This old-fashioned giblet gravy starts with a traditional roast turkey recipe. It works with any roasted turkey recipe, even our spatchcock turkey. But you need the veggies that have been roasting under the bird and the pan drippings for the richest flavor.
1. Sear the Giblets and Neck
- Heat up a medium saucepan over medium heat with a tablespoon of oil. Throw in the giblets, neck, and tail, and let them sizzle until they’re browned all over (about 5 minutes).
- Toss in the minced onion and keep stirring for another 3-4 minutes. Lower the heat and let everything cook until the water has evaporated from the giblets and they’re beautifully browned (around 15 minutes).
- Now, cover the whole mix with a cup of broth. Take fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs, tie them up, and toss them into the mix with a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil on low for about 30 minutes.
- After that, strain the liquid, and don’t forget to save it because it’s gold! You can ditch the neck (unless you want to save it for some Instant Pot turkey stock) and the gizzard.
- Pop the giblets (the heart and liver) into a blender and give them a good pulse until they’re finely chopped into small pieces.
- In the meantime, melt the butter in a small pan. Toss in the flour and whisk it slowly to make a roux. Let that roux cook until it’s a lovely dark brown.
- Slowly whisk in one cup of chicken broth. At first, it’ll be thick and pasty, but keep going, and it’ll start to thin out a bit. Let it simmer until it thickens (about a minute).
- Add another cup of broth and simmer on low until the sauce thickens up again. Now, it’s going to be thick and a bit soupy.
2. Make the Giblet Gravy
- While the turkey rests, heat up the roasting pan it cooked in (with all those delicious veggie bits and drippings) over two burners set to medium heat. Add a cup of chicken broth and, with a wooden spoon, deglaze the pan by scraping up any of the brown bits stuck on the bottom.
- Slowly whisk in the gravy, one cup at a time, into the pan. Keep whisking until everything’s mixed in well, then let it simmer for 20 minutes. While you’re at it, spoon out the larger veggie bits, herb sprigs, and bay leaves with a slotted spoon.
- Add the minced giblets back into the pan with the gravy and let it all simmer to heat through and is a thick brown gravy. Season it up with salt and pepper to your taste. Serve your delicious gravy with your roast turkey!
Making Giblet Gravy Tips
- Our favorite trick we’ve picked up on through the years is to keep gravy warm by storing it in a coffee carafe. When cold, giblet gravy can congeal, leaving an undesirable texture. If you simmer it too long, you can burn the bottom. We find a coffee carafe the perfect tool to transfer the gravy to and serve from so everyone gets piping hot gravy over their turkey, whether it’s their first or third portion.
- Make this gravy from giblets while the turkey rests, using the pan drippings from the bird. If you didn’t use a traditional roasted turkey for this recipe, use 1 cup of homemade turkey stock in place of the drippings and skip the steps to mix in the pan veggies.
How to serve Turkey Giblet Gravy
This classic turkey giblet gravy goes with all of your favorite Thanksgiving dinner recipes! Serve up this glorious gravy piping hot on top of your whole turkey recipes like Smoked Turkey Breast, Insta-pot Turkey Breast, or a classic Thanksgiving turkey! Pour it over potatoes, stuffing, and anything else you want. Drizzle it over leftover turkey recipes like turkey sandwiches. In other words, it’s gravy, use it on whatever you want.
How to Store and Reheat Giblet Gravy
Store any leftover gravy in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can also freeze the turkey Giblet Gravy recipe for up to 4-6 months!
To reheat:
- Stovetop: Pour gravy into a small saucepan and heat on medium-low until heated. Make sure to whisk frequently to get the gravy nice and smooth.
- Microwave: Pour gravy into a bowl or small baking dish and heat in 30-second intervals until the gravy is heated. Make sure to mix the gravy thoroughly to distribute the heat.
More amazing Thanksgiving recipes
This giblet gravy recipe is the secret ingredient that will take your holiday feasts from ordinary to extraordinary. With its rich flavors and velvety texture, it’s guaranteed to make even the pickiest of eaters go weak at the knees. So why settle for a boring old gravy when you can indulge in this tantalizing blend of aromatic spices, tender giblets, and savory drippings?
Have you tried this recipe? Do us a favor and rate the recipe card with the ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ and drop a comment to help out the next reader.
How To Make Giblet Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Turkey giblets the liver, heart, and gizzard
- 1 Turkey neck
- ½ onion
- Pinch of salt
- 3-4 cup turkey broth or chicken broth, divided
- 5 sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 2 sprigs Fresh Rosemary
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 tsp black pepper
- Roasted veggies, bay leaf, and drippings from Roast turkey recipe
Instructions
- This recipe uses the roasting pan, veggies, and pan drippings from a roast turkey recipe.
Sear the giblets and neck:
- Add 1 tbsp oil to a pan preheated over medium heat. Add the giblets, neck and tail to the pan and saute to brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.
- Add the minced onion, an sauce another 3 to 4 minutes, stirring as needed.
- Reduce the heat to low, and allow the giblets and onion to cook until the water has evaporated from the giblets and they are well browned, about 15 minutes.
- Then, cover with 1 cup broth.
- Tie the rosemary and thyme together. Then, add thyme and rosemary sprigs and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Adjust the heat to a low simmer for around 30 minutes.
- Strain, and reserve the liquid.
- Discard the neck (or save it for turkey stock and the gizzard)
- Transfer the giblets (the heart and liver) to a blender and pulse until finely chopped
Make the roux:
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan.
- Add the flour, and whisk slowly to form a roux. Let the roux cook to a dark brown.
- Slowly, whisk in 1 cup of the chicken broth. It will first form a thick paste as you add the liquid and then thin out a bit.
- Allow the gravy to thicken one minute longer, whisking.
- Add one more cup and simmer over low until the sauce thickens again. It will be thick and soupy now.
Make the giblet gravy:
- While the turkey rests, heat the pan that the turkey cooked in, with the veggies and dripping, over 2 burners set to medium heat.
- Add one cup of broth and using a wooden spoon, scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Slowly whisk the gravy, 1 cup at a time, into the pan. Whisk to fully incorporate the mix and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
- Then strain the large leftover vegetables with a slotted spoon and discard. Remove the herb sprigs and bay leaves as well.
- Add the minced giblets back to the pan with the gravy and bring to a simmer. Simmer to heat through.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Video
Notes
- Make this gravy from giblets while the turkey rests, using the pan drippings from the bird. If you didn’t use a traditional roasted turkey for this recipe, use 1 cup of homemade turkey stock in place of the drippings and skip the steps to mix in the pan veggies.
- If you want a smooth gravy, you can omit adding the giblets back in or use an immersion blender to puree the sauce until smooth.
- If the gravy gets too thick, thin it while in the saucepan with a little cold water.
- Our favorite trick we’ve picked up on through the years is to keep gravy warm by storing it in a coffee carafe. When cold, giblet gravy can congeal, leaving an undesirable texture. If you simmer it too long, you can burn the bottom. We find a coffee carafe the perfect tool to transfer the gravy to and serve from so everyone gets piping hot gravy over their turkey, whether it’s their first or third portion.
- You can make this gravy up to 6 months in advance and freeze it. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in a saucepan to serve.
Nutrition
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Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! Feel free to make this gravy 1-2 days beforehand and store it in the fridge. Reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave. Or make it and freeze it for up to 6 months. Allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight. After you’ve reheated it, pour the gravy into a coffee carafe to keep it warm.
Use leftover gravy on top of everything. Try it on Leftover Smoked Turkey Sandwich or Black Friday Turkey Burger Recipe! Or freeze it for up to 6 months for later.
