Anthony Bourdain's Turkey Gravy to Make Ahead

A deeply reduced homemade turkey stock — built from roasted wings, necks, vegetables, and wine — gives this gravy exceptional richness and depth.
A classic roux adds body and toasted complexity, while the final additions of fish sauce and Worcestershire sauce layer in more umami.
Much of the recipe can be prepared days ahead, making it an ideal, low-stress gravy for holiday meals.

Turkey gravy can be an afterthought when it comes to the bird, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and other main attractions at the Thanksgiving and fall dinner tables. But the glory of this one (not-so) little sauce is that, when done right, it enhances all those dishes on your table — from the turkey to the sides. A proper gravy, made with real pan drippings and a from-scratch roux, should be nearly drinkable, it’s so good. Anthony Bourdain’s turkey gravy recipe hits that spot for us.

Anthony Bourdain’s turkey gravy is made with robust ingredients like bold dry red wine, umami-rich fish sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. These well-chosen ingredients balance the tastes in each ladleful.

Though you can make this gravy the day of, it’s a great pick for making ahead of time. You can make your own turkey stock and drippings with turkey pieces days in advance and prepare the gravy up to three days before the feast.

Why it’s important to use homemade turkey stock and drippings

The homemade stock and pan drippings are integral to this gravy’s rich, meaty flavor. If you just can’t pull it together in time, however, you can still use the recipe and swap in a high-quality premade turkey stock. For the drippings, you could sub in bacon drippings, melted butter, or a mixture of melted butter and robust olive oil.

How the roux works to make great gravy

This turkey gravy recipe utilizes a homemade roux as the thickener of the gravy. Some recipes use cornstarch to do the job, and while that works well to thicken, cornstarch doesn’t add anything to the flavor profile of a gravy. A roux, on the other hand, thickens while also providing a rich base of flavor coming from the butter and flour cooking together. You can make a pale roux that’s light and subtle or a slow-cooked roux that becomes caramelized and amber-colored, adding robust, sweet, browned-butter flavors.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

Bourdain’s turkey stock recipe calls for two turkeys (one “business turkey” for eating and one “stunt turkey” for show) and yields 4 quarts of turkey stock.
For the gravy, you’ll only need 3 quarts. Reserve the remaining stock for use in another dish.

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