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This make ahead white wine gravy is my secret to a stress free and delicious Thanksgiving meal. Rich, smooth, and so incredibly easy, this gravy recipe can’t be beat. Made with a base of butter, shallots, fresh sage, and turkey stock, and finished with the drippings form your Thanksgiving turkey.
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Did I ever tell you about that time that I throughly failed at making the gravy for the Thanksgiving meal? It was just last year, and I was serving not just my immediate family, but my grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins. So over thirty people.
I was cooking out of my grandma’s kitchen, which in my defense was not anywhere near set up to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for thirty plus people. Somehow, someway, we did, but the gravy? I messed that up, and bad. It was greasy and lumpy and I still cringe thinking about it.
This year, my gravy is going to be perfect. No lumpy, greasy gravy. I’m serving the same amount of people, but cooking in my kitchen at the new studio barn. It’s going to be great, I’m so excited. I perfected the best make-ahead turkey gravy, that’s truly so delicious. It’s true, my family has already approved…because we’ve now had Thanksgiving dinner three times this past week…
Here are the details.
Start by making the gravy base. This is really just a simple mix of butter, shallots (the secret), sage, flour, and high quality broth (I use low-sodium chicken broth or turkey stock). It’s your basic roux, but it makes for the perfect gravy “base”. You can keep the base stored in the fridge for a few days, so it’s perfect to make-ahead.
When it’s ready to serve, and you’ve roasted up your holiday turkey, take the roasting pan or medium saucepan and place it on the stove. Add a splash of white wine and scrape up all those delicious browned bits from the roasting pan. Let the wine simmer and reduce slightly, then add the gravy base, whisking until smooth. Adding the base right to the roasting pan with all the turkey drippings gives you the rich flavors that your gravy needs. But without any of the stress of making the gravy from scratch. Trust me, making this gravy ahead will relieve so much stress on Thanksgiving Day. It’s a game changer. It is perfect over potatoes and stuffing.
Check out our full 2018 Thanksgiving menu here.
If you make this gravy please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Make Ahead White Wine Gravy
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken or turkey broth
- kosher salt and black pepper
- pan drippings from herb roasted turkey, (optional)
- 1 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio
Instructions
- 1. Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened and fragrant. Add the sage and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the shallots, stirring for 1-2 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil, boil 5 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Strain, if desired. 2. Allow the gravy to cool, then store the gravy base in the fridge for up to 3 days. 3. To finish the gravy. Option 1: warm on the stove adding additional broth to think and a 1 tablespoon worcheshire or soy sauce. Optional 2: Once your turkey has finished roasting, remove the turkey from the roasting pan and strain the liquid into a glass measuring cup. Place the roasting pan over two burners. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the wine has reduced slightly. Reduce the heat to low and slowly whisk in the gravy base. Simmer until the gravy is smooth and thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. If needed, thin the gravy with the reserve broth from the roasting pan. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
I made this for a crowd recently, it was delicious and a huge time & stress saver. I also added a few sprigs of fresh thyme when I added the sage and made my own broth from leftover chicken carcasses that I had in the freezer, I strained it for a nice smooth gravy. So, so good, I will never again make gravy any other way! Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Tammy,
Wonderful! I’m so glad this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it! Merry Christmas!!🎄🎁☃️
I have made this gravy with great success accompanying turkey but would like to capitalize on its simplicity for a Standing Rib Roast. What recommended tweaks would you suggest?
Hey Rose,
Happy Holidays!🎄🎁☃️ Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I’m so glad to hear it turned out well! I would just follow the recipe as is follow option 1:) XxT
I’m planning to make this for Christmas. What are the pros/cons of not straining out the shallots and sage?
Hi Angie,
If you don’t strain, it’s added flavor, if you do strain, your gravy won’t be super smooth. Totally up to you! I hope you love this recipe! xx
I leave in the shallots/sage and just use an immersion blender.
Fabulous! So easy. I was tempted not to use the pan drippings because it was so good on its own, but it was equally delicious with the drippings and wine. Thank you, Tieghan, for the make-ahead Flawless gravy!! Either way, you can’t go wrong besides saving a little fat in your diet by not using the drippings.
Hey Kym,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays! XxT
We love how easy this recipe is! Used Calvados instead of the white wine and it was delicious!
Thanks so much, Susan! I am so glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you making it! Have the best weekend! XxT
Very good and easy to make. Perfect for both vegans (use dairy free butter and veg broth), vegetarians and carnivores. I added a little tarragon, too. Yum!
Hi Lisa,
Amazing! Love to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for making it and your comment! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! xx
I have been making this gravy recipe for a couple of years now and it is a family favorite for the holidays! My father in law smokes the turkey so after adding in the turkey drippings, it gives the gravy this Smokey flavor and it’s SO good!
Hey Brenna,
Love to hear this! Thanks so much for making this recipe every year and your comment! Happy Thanksgiving! XxT
For option 1 when do you add the wine? I am not sure if it is in the pre-prepping or the reheating phase, the recipe isn’t clear on that part. Thank you
Hi Nikki,
You will add it in the re-heating phase. I hope this helps! Happy Thanksgiving! xx
Hi Tiegan! I was wondering if I don’t have the turkey drippings, what would you use to create something similar? Thank you! Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
Hi Elizabeth,
You will just have to due without them:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Hi, Tieghan! Do you think this gravy will work with chicken? Thank you for sharing warm Thanksgiving vibes 🙂
Hey Jennifer,
Totally, that will work nicely for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Everytime i look for your “Make Ahead Easy No Drippings Gravy with Bacon” your site brings me to thus recipe instead. Whats the deal?
Hi Sara,
So sorry about that! I do not have a gravy recipe specifically with bacon in it. You could certainly add bacon to this if you wanted. I hope this helps! Happy Holidays! xx
I did this a little backwards, but it still came out great. I had some drippings from a turkey breast that I made within the past week, which I wanted to incorporate with this. I started the cooking process with the butter and shallots. Then I was like “Uh oh, I’m planning to have this for dinner tonight”. So, since there was no mention of the wine in option 1, I added it to the butter and shallots. Then I reduced it down, which actually did a good job of further caramelizing the shallots. I added the flour and let it cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often, then added two cups total of the reserved drippings/turkey broth, and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. It’s really very flavorful, and I seriously believe that shallots make everything more delicious……lol. Hope this makes sense, because I plan to do the same thing again when I need turkey gravy in the future!
Thank you for trying out the recipe Linda! So glad that this gravy turned out well for you! xT
Hi Tieghan, I made a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner this year. It was fabulous! I was so proud. Thanks to your wonderful recipes. The gravy turned out perfect. I made the base the day before. I’m planning on making the croissant mushroom stuffing again this weekend. My son is vegetarian so I will be using vegetable broth. I’m wondering if you think the gravy will turn out good with vegetable broth and of course no drippings. Thank you!
Cathy
Thank you Cathy! I really appreciate it! xT
I made this for Thanksgiving…did the make ahead part the day before and just added some pan drippings (I didn’t add the wine to the pan though since I was running short on time…I just added some of the liquid from the turkey) and it was amazing! Will make again and maybe next time I’ll actually get the good bits from the pan 🙂
Hi Erin,
I appreciate you making this recipe and your feedback! So glad it was enjoyed:) Have a great week! xT
This was delicious. I am so glad to have your make-ahead two-part system. I made turkey broth with the back and fixings but forgot to roast the bones first. I was disappointed that the gravy was so light in color, but the flavor was yummy. There is no reason to add to the stress of a holiday meal by making gravy while the protein sits when you can make 99% the day before.
Hi Kym,
I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback! So glad to hear it was enjoyed, sorry about the coloring! xT