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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 can’t be beat. Made with a base of butter, shallots, fresh sage, and broth, and finished with the drippings form your Thanksgiving turkey.
Did I ever tell you about that time that I throughly failed at make 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 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). 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 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.
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
Servings: 3 makes about cups
Calories Per Serving: 281 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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
To Make Gluten Free: Use an equal amount of your favorite gluten free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. I recommend Cup4Cup gluten free flour.Â
I’m going to make this for Christmas 🙂 Still not entirely sure about what happens after you strain the liquid into a measuring jar. What exactly is in the roasting tin when you add the wine?
Thanks for your time <3
Hi Marian,
The bits from the turkey are in the pan:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I made this for Thanksgiving, and it was truly amazing! ? Beautiful color and flavor and great to be able to make in advance!!
Hi Nicole,
Wonderful! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xTieghan
This is the. best. tasting. gravy. SO flavorful!! So nice to make ahead too! Saving this and will never make anything else!
Hi Kim,
Wonderful! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xTieghan
Hello! Like many comments I’ve read, we won’t have drippings from the Turkey available so I will omit the drippings. However, do you recommend finding a way to still incorporate the white wine? Perhaps in the beginning after softening the shallots? Thanks!
Hi Ashley,
Sure, you can add the wine with the shallots, that will be great! I hope you love the recipe! Happy Thanksgiving! xx
How do I use better than bouillon to make this gravy? I think t was on an Insta story and I missed it. Can this be done for beef tenderloin with a beef base and other herbs? Also would I use a red wine for beef?
Hi Jaye,
Sorry you might be thinking of the wrong person, I’ve never made this with better than bouillon. I have only used this as a turkey gravy. Let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I made this for Thanksgiving this year. My mom made her traditional gravy as well but let’s just say… this one was a hit. It’s sooo delicious and so easy!!
Hi Megan,
Fantastic! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Have the best week:) xTieghan
First time making gravy, so easy. There was a miscommunication about the roasting pan, so I didn’t get brown bits. I added the wine directly to the gravy and got a couple early ladles of my mother’s turkey stock. Delicious!
Hi Miranda,
Fantastic! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Have the best week:) xTieghan
I made this recipe for the first time yesterday and my family said it was the best gravy they’d ever had!! It was so delicious and flavorful. I did add some additional herbs because I am not the biggest fan of sage, I added fresh bay leaves, thyme and a sprig of rosemary. 13/10 delicious
Hi Carolyn,
Wonderful!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend! xTieghan
Made this for the first time this year and it was delicious!!! 100% stress free gravy. Will be my go to gravy for years to come. And…LOVE making it ahead of time knowing there won’t be any lumps in my gravy. ????
Hi Jennifer,
Wonderful!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend! xTieghan
This gravy was so good and easy. Definitely the gravy recipe I’ll be using moving forward.
Hi there,
Wonderful!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend! xTieghan
Made this for the first time this year. I made the base the night before, and finishing up the gravy on Thanksgiving Day was a breeze. And so, so delicious!! This will be my go-to Thanksgiving gravy from now on. Everybody loved it!! Thank you, Tieghan!!
Hey Janet,
Wonderful!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend! xTieghan
Super easy and delicious. Forgot to add the pan drippings, but everyone still loved it
Hi Floriana,
I am so glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
Hi! I made the roux and love the consistency already. We’re smoking our turkey so I can’t use a roasting pan for the second half of the recipe. I plan on adding drippings to the gravy, but I’m wondering if I can simply pour the wine into the gravy too? Or is there another way I should better incorporate it into the roux?
Hi Rose,
I would just recommend follow the recipe as written, just use a large sauce pan for this step. I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
I’m so excited to try this! Out of curiosity, do you like to strain out the shallots or leave them in there?
Hi Jenny,
I keep my shallots in the gravy. I hope you love the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
I just finished making the roux for the gravy. By the time I added the broth, the shallots were pretty crispy. Should the shallots still have been more “soft” even at the end? Just not sure if that will affect the flavor? Thank you 🙂
Hey Tauni,
Yes, your shallots should just be softened:) xTieghan
This looks like a great way to simplify Thanksgiving dinner. I have a question. Step 3, in the instructions say ” strain the liquid into a glass measuring cup.” But the only use of this liquid I see in the instructions is its used to thin the gravy, is that correct? Thank you!
I was confused about that part too
Hey Amanda,
Yes, that is correct. I hope you enjoy this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan