How to make pan gravy from turkey drippings: the fat, the flour, and the cup of liquid

The timing guide tells you to make gravy while the turkey rests. It does not tell you how much fat or how much flour. This is that missing step, from an Iowa State Extension note, with the USDA rules for the rest and the leftovers kept beside it.

The ratio

Iowa State's AnswerLine, published November 24, 2020, describes gravy as a thickened sauce of meat drippings, sometimes with stock. The roux is equal parts fat and flour, cooked until golden and bubbly. For a measured batch, the note is specific: for each cup of gravy, use two tablespoons of fat, two tablespoons of flour, and one cup of liquid. That liquid is the defatted drippings, broth, or a mix. The note says you can double or triple the batch.

If the pan is short on fat, use butter or another fat you already cook with. Go lightly on salt if the broth or the drippings are already salty. The note also mentions family recipes that add cream, giblets, or other seasonings. It names wine among those family additions. This page does not. A giblet broth, if you want one, starts while the bird roasts: turkey giblets and the neck.

The steps, in the rest window

1. Take the turkey out when it is done. USDA says to let it stand about 20 minutes before you carve. Iowa uses that same rest and says the bird will also leak more drippings. The temperature claim in that sentence is Iowa's, not a second USDA rule.
2. Pour the drippings through a strainer. Iowa says to discard the coagulated bits. The separator listed below includes a strainer, which is why this page does not add a second colander.
3. Separate the fat from the liquid with the separator or a spoon. Keep both. The fat is the roux. The liquid is part of the cup you will add back.
4. For each cup of gravy, put two tablespoons of that fat in the pan over medium heat. Whisk in two tablespoons of flour. Let it bubble and brown slightly.
5. Slowly add one cup of defatted drippings or broth per cup of gravy, whisking so the roux dissolves. Bring it to a boil, then simmer. Iowa says about 10 minutes longer, thinning with more liquid if you need to.
6. Hold it hot. USDA's line for hot food is 140°F or above. The clock for the rest of the plate is the gravy, stuffing, and sides timing guide.

If it goes wrong

Iowa's rescues, shortened: bland gravy gets salt or herbs; lumpy gravy can be blended smooth; gravy that is too thick gets more liquid; gravy that is too thin gets a flour-and-water slurry brought to a boil, or a small second roux. Greasy gravy can be skimmed. Scorched gravy is the one the note does not promise to save.

If you cannot use wheat flour, the same note says cornstarch or potato starch, and it says to avoid arrowroot and tapioca because they can turn stringy. Starch gravy needs less simmering, and Iowa says it does not freeze well. A guest who avoids gluten needs more than a starch swap. The gluten-free host checklist is that page.

Two clocks for the leftovers

Iowa State says homemade turkey gravy is perishable, that bacteria grow quickly between 40°F and 140°F, and that gravy left out more than 2 hours should be discarded. It then says homemade turkey gravy keeps 2 days in the refrigerator and about 3 months of best quality in the freezer.

USDA's leftover page says to bring gravy and sauces to a rolling boil when you reheat them, and the storage chart our other guides cite is 3 to 4 days for gravy. Those are not the same refrigerator time. This page follows Iowa's 2 days for gravy you thickened from drippings. The leftovers guide keeps the USDA chart for the rest of the meal. Reheat on the stove either way.

A slow cooker is not the reheat. FSIS says not to reheat foods in a slow cooker. Iowa mentions a slow cooker on warm only after the gravy is already hot, as a way to hold it. Measure 140°F. The holding rules are on how to keep Thanksgiving food warm.

What this is not

A packet, a jar, or a promise that every family roux matches the two-tablespoon line. If you have a written family method, use it, and still hit the boil when you reheat and the two-hour rule when you are done.

The separator is a box. Order it against the Christmas shipping cutoff only if you still need it for a later dinner. For Thanksgiving, you need it before November 26. The gift finder is for people, not for this pot.