This final Thanksgiving post goes out to my Facebook friend, Christina, who asked “hey chef, what about the gravy?!” Well, Christina, this one’s for you.
In my post Thanksgiving Dinner Part I: The Bird I actually snuck in a quick and easy pan sauce with a twist – cranberries. What I most like about this pan sauce is that you’re using the flavors from the turkey and taking them to the next level with the flavor of cranberry. Here’s the full recipe:
Cranberry Pan Sauce
Add cranberry sauce to your deglazed pan for an amped pan sauce.
Note: this sauce should be made in the same pan that you’ve used to sear your turkey. Remove the turkey from the pan and place it on a sheet tray with a rack. Leave whatever’s in the pan and anything that dripped onto the tray after it cooked. Add that to the pan and get started on your pan sauce as follows…
Ingredients:
1 Shallot, small dice
1 C White Wine
3 C Turkey Stock
1⁄2 cup Cranberry Puree
2T Butter
Salt and Pepper
Preparation:
Place the pan that you’ve seared your turkey in over medium-low heat, add extra oil to the pan if needed
Add shallot and sauté until tender, ~2-3 min
Take a sip of the wine, then add the rest to the pan to deglaze
Scrape bottom of pan to make sure all the bits come up off the bottom
Let wine reduce 2-3 min, then add stock. Lets reduce for 10 min
Add cranberry and butter. Swirl pan, possibly whisk to break up cranberry
Season to taste with salt and pepper
Serve and enjoy
What’s The Difference: Pan Sauce v. Gravy
Gravy like your grandma’s!
Now some of you may be scratching your heads and wondering – is pan sauce and gravy the same thing? Well, yes and no. It’s true, gravy is a sauce, but pan sauce is not a gravy. The basic difference is that with a pan sauce, you’re using the bits at the bottom of the pan where you’ve roasted your meat and then you’re deglazing the pan with a liquid, such as wine, to create a sauce.
Deglaze your pan… get all the bits.
With gravy, you’re adding flour or cornstarch to the pan juices after the meat has been cooked. This will thicken the sauce and add those lumps that we’re all use to when we think of traditional gravy. Pan sauce versus gravy is a personal preference, so just go with the sauce that you like the best.
Giblet gravy
Here are a few gravy recipes that you should consider this Thanksgiving.
I’d love to see what you’re serving this Thanksgiving, so don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram photos @aramreed. You can also ping me with your turkey day questions on Facebook and Twitter@chefaramreed.
Cheers!
Chef Aram