Food Recipes Sauces, Condiments and Preserves Gravy To Make Really Good Gravy, You First Need to Understand Roux Be the first to rate & review! Making roux is the key to turkey gravy with depth and soul. By Erick Williams Erick Williams Erick Williams is the renowned Chicago chef and owner of Virtue Restaurant & Bar, Mustard Seed Kitchen, Daisy’s Po-Boy & Tavern, and Top This Mac & Cheese. Williams made history in 2022 as the first Black chef to win the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on October 11, 2023 Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Recipes published by Food & Wine are rigorously tested by the culinary professionals at the Dotdash Meredith Food Studios in order to empower home cooks to enjoy being in the kitchen and preparing meals they will love. Our expert culinary team tests and retests each recipe using equipment and ingredients found in home kitchens to ensure that every recipe is delicious and works for cooks at home every single time. Meet the Food & Wine Test Kitchen Rate PRINT Share Photo: Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Total Time: 53 mins Yield: 8 servings Talking to Erick Williams about roux is like going to church. After the owner and executive chef of Virtue Restaurant in Chicago is done talking about his approach to — and, more importantly, philosophy on — the power of cooking equal parts flour and fat for the foundation of so many sauces, gravies, and stews, we are all true believers. It starts with Williams’ position on turkey gravy: He goes dark with the roux, patiently stirring flour and butter together until it takes on a coffee-brown color and an intense, nutty flavor. It’s a process that stems from childhood memories of his mother’s rich smothered chicken, which she made by incorporating browned bits from the frying pan with fat and flour to thicken the gravy. Later, when he was taught how to make gumbo, Williams recognized his mother’s technique in the intentionally slow and careful development of the deeply flavored, classic Louisiana roux. The process still evokes warm memories, he says, and he carries over both the method and the mood into his own roux-built turkey gravy. Williams believes in the power of the rich gravy to bestow more than great flavors at the Thanksgiving table year after year. “It isn’t just that the gravy is rich,” he says. “The laughter is rich, the company is rich, and there is a value in the food.” Now that’s good gravy. Frequently asked questions Can turkey gravy be made ahead of time? Roux can be taken to a range of stages of cooking, from white to blond to deep brown, and Williams relies on that versatility to make a day like Thanksgiving go smoothly. If you’re feeling ambitious, Williams suggests making a double batch of roux at breakfast time, stirring it just until peanut buttery in color, and then splitting the batch in half. Stir milk and stock into half of the roux to make Sausage Gravy for biscuits to tide folks over until dinner. Later, the remaining roux can be returned to the stove and cooked further, to the color of milk chocolate, before stirring in drippings and stock for turkey gravy. The gravy can be prepared ahead and stored in an airtight container in a refrigerator for up to 2 days or in a freezer for up to 1 month. Note from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen You can find a fat separator at local houseware stores or online at Oxo. Ingredients 1 1/2 to 2 cups homemade or store-bought well-seasoned turkey or chicken stock, as needed 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1/4 cup all-purpose flour Reserved turkey drippings 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt Directions How to make roux for gravy Pour turkey drippings into a fat separator Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Slowly pour separated liquid into a liquid measuring cup; discard separated fat. Add turkey or chicken stock to liquid as needed to equal 2 cups total turkey liquid. Set aside until ready to use. Whisk to blend fat and flour Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Melt butter in a medium-size heavy-bottomed saucepan or high-sided skillet over medium. Whisk in flour; and stir until smooth and completely combined. Cook the flour mixture Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Cook over medium, whisking constantly. The roux will bubble as the raw flour cooks, but no color has developed yet. Whisk as color develops Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Cook over medium, whisking constantly, until mixture is smooth and color darkens to a deep blond. Continue cooking and whisking to peanut butter stage Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Cook, whisking constantly, until roux is smooth and the color of peanut butter, 6 to 8 minutes. Continue cooking and whisking to milk chocolate stage Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Cook, whisking constantly and adjusting heat from medium to medium-low as needed to prevent burning, until roux is milk chocolate in color, 25 to 28 minutes. Add drippings and stock Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Whisk turkey liquid into roux in saucepan; bring to a boil over high, whisking slowly and constantly. Simmer and whisk until thickened Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Reduce heat to medium to maintain a simmer; cook, whisking occasionally, until gravy is thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in pepper and salt. Serve immediately. Originally appeared in Food & Wine magazine, November 2023 Rate It Print