Mama Celia's Balsamic Turkey Gravy

Mama Celia's Balsamic Turkey Gravy

The best way to make this gravy is to use drippings from turkey pan. We have substituted chicken broth here, or you could also use vegetable broth, but good ole pan drippings with the fat drained off is the traditional way to make gravy, and the most flavorful. Making gravy is a hard thing to try to explain in recipes, but hopefully you will get the idea. Years of watching Grandma Celia and my mother do it taught me the fine art. Remember, you can always adjust as you go by adding each ingredient a little at a time. Biggest lesson of thickening a gravy using flour is to whisk it in either milk or water and making a thin "paste" if you will, before adding it to the pan. If you do not do this, you will end up with the dreaded "flour lumps".

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 cups chicken broth (If you are roasting a turkey, use the pan drippings minus the oil/fat instead of broth)
• giblets from turkey
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 Tbs Butter
• 2 onions, diced finely
• 1 Tbs rosemary
• 1 Tbs sage
• 1/3 cup All-Purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Celia's Traditional Dark Balsamic Vinegar to taste

Directions

1. In a large pot, dump in the contents of your giblets bag, along with 5 1/2 cups of chicken broth, one onion cut into quarters, and one bay leaf. Bring this to a boil and let it simmer for about an hour. It should hopefully be reduced to about 3 cups of liquid in this time. Strain all the big pieces out and throw them away, even the onions as they will be too mushy to use.
2. In a large pan, melt another 6 Tablespoons butter. Dice up two more onions as finely as you can manage, and start sauteing them over low heat. About ten minutes in, add 1 Tablespoon each of rosemary and sage, and continue sauteing until the onions are golden brown and caramelized.
3. Sprinkle in 1/3 cup of the flour and stir very well to coat all the onions and not have any lumps of flour..
4. Give the flour about a minute to cook while you stir continuously, and then gradually whisk a a couple cups or more of chicken broth into the pan with the onions. Add in another teaspoon of rosemary and sage if you like.
5. Add small amounts of both the broth and the balsamic vinegar to adjust the consistency and flavor. Start by adding one Tablespoon of the balsamic vinegar, then about 1/4 cup of broth. It’s very hard to give exact measurements here. We are trying to balance thickness and flavor, which is hard to predict. If you over do it on the broth, you can always let it simmer a little longer and thicken again. You can always add a little more flour if it is to thin (whisk the flour with a little milk before adding). But once the balsamic is in, it’s in, so you can go even slower than a Tablespoon at a time to adjust to your liking. Just keep tasting and keep stirring and stop when it’s perfect!