Mother's Giblet Gravy

A simple, basic recipe for Thanksgiving gravy.  This must be served whenever turkey, mashed potatoes, and dressing are on the menu; it's the law.

When you prep the turkey, remove all the giblets. Rinse them off, place them in a sauce pan and cover with water. Add a carrot, some celery, and half an onion.  season the water with salt and pepper.

I also add the egg(s) to water so they can hardball while the giblets are cooking.

When the water comes to a rolling boil, skim off any nasty looking foam.  Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and forget about it for about 30 minutes.

Check the doneness of the giblets, turn the heat off and strain the solids.  Return broth to the sauce pan. When they are cool enough to handle, dice up the giblets and hard boiled egg and reserve in a small bowl until it is time to add to your finished gravy.

When your turkey is done, and removed from the roasting pan to rest on a platter, strain any solids off the bottom of the roasting pan and add the clear juices to the broth.  

Add corn starch - 1 Tbsp. for every cup of broth, to a ball jar.  Bring the broth to a boil. Prior to it coming to a boil but still warm, add enough broth to the corn starch and begin to blend it with a fork.  Put the lid on the jar and carefully (with a towel covering the lid) shake up your slurry until completely smooth.  Set aside.

Once the broth is at a rolling boil, give the slurry a shake to re-mix and slowly add, in a small stream, to the broth while whisking.  The gravy should thicken almost immediately.  Lower the heat and bring to a gentle simmer for several minutes.  Add your chopped giblets and eggs and allow to warm through.

Some Notes to Consider Before Making Your Gravy:

When prepping and seasoning your turkey for roasting, take into consideration that what you put in the roasting pan and the turkey may affect the taste of your gravy. I don't use anything sweet, such as fruits, because they simply don't make a tasty gravy. I like to use lots of carrots, onion, celery, garlic cloves and springs of fresh thyme or rosemary in the roasting pan.  I usually put lemon and onion inside the bird.  I use LOTS of seasoned butter under the skin of the bird.

If you need/want more gravy than your broth and juices combined make, use some boxed chicken broth to bring your broth to the desired amount that you want.

Do NOT add the dry corn starch directly to the boiling broth.  It will become a lumpy mess that you cannot fix and you will hate yourself.  I speak from experience.  ALWAYS make your smooth slurry in a jar first.

If you don't like the giblets/egg in the gravy, the gravy is still delicious on it's own.