PORTLAND, Maine — For many, gravy is a mystery, something grandma whipped out with effortless ease. If her recipe got lost in translation, you may be wondering how to impart the flavorful essence of turkey into all aspects of your Thanksgiving feast.
Spoiler alert: This is not your grandmother’s gravy.
Inside the Portland Harbor Hotel, executive chef Tim Pierre Labonte broke down the importance of the Thanksgiving staple and why it should not be left to the last minute.
“When people walk into the home, they smell it first,” he said. “That’s when they start salivating.”
This may be a newsflash to children of the 1970s, but the all-utility sauce shouldn’t be dark brown and taste like the refrigerator. After all, it’s the culinary essence that unites Thanksgiving’s diverse side dishes.
In 2015, “it doesn’t have to be traditional,” said Labonte.
Sophisticated palates can handle and secretly crave “gravy with a twist.”
This chef suggested “throwing some roasted garlic or fresh chopped rosemary, citrus, or maybe even a little goat cheese at the end.”
“Those are the things that I feel people get excited about,” he said.
Such ingredients are less measured than inspired and guided by the reigning palate of the preparer. Taste as it unfolds and add accordingly.
But first, the basics.
“You start by making a roux, which is equal parts butter and flour,” said Labonte. You can use cornstarch, or other thickeners, “but in my opinion, butter always tastes better.”
Whisk butter in a pan over high heat, then add flour.
“The cooking part is crucial in the making of the roux, cook it longer to get rid of the flour taste,” he said.
Next comes the stock: Gravy’s most important ingredient.
Pro tip
Gravy should be made the day you plan to use it. You can prepare a dark poultry stock up to three days in advance. To achieve a darker stock, roast poultry bones and vegetables to a dark amber before proceeding to a basic stock production method. If pressed for time, buy organic, free-range chicken stock found in most markets.
Labonte suggested transferring finished turkey to a resting pan (a pan other than that which was used for the initial roasting), deglazing your roasting pan with a quart of store-bought chicken stock, simmering for 15 to 20 minutes and then straining.
“This will strengthen and ‘turkeyize’ the flavor of a store-bought stock. It’s always a good idea to have stock of some sort, as your turkey will not always render enough jus to yield a comfortable amount of gravy,” he said.
Add stock to the roux and whisk until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Now add some pizzaz
Because “hazelnuts and Thanksgiving and turkey go so well together,” Labonte offered a quick tip. At the early stages of the cooking process, pour in a few ounces of Frangelico.
“That way the alcohol cooks out,” said Labonte, tossing in a cup of chopped hazelnuts as he prepares to watch guests — up to 275 will dine here this Thanksgiving — swoon.
Another way to make gourmet gravy is with goat cheese and rosemary.
“Goat cheese adds tang,” said Labonte, tossing a rough chop of rosemary into simmering gravy and then a few chunks of fresh goat cheese. Whisk it briskly until it dissolves in a creamy, silky, savory elixir.
Caution: You may want to ditch the bird altogether, grab a spoon and gulp this up.
“I put gravy on everything except cranberry sauce,” said Labonte.
When it tastes this good, why stop there?
