Turkey Gravy

strange question. i tried to make gravy last year with the pan juices from my fresh, never frozen, turkey and there were NO pan drippings. the bottom of the pan that i roasted it in was dry as a bone. what gives?

If I need to make this gravy gluten-free what would you suggest as an alternative to the flour? This will be my first gluten-free holiday and it is challenging!

I have found that fine white rice flour or corn starch work best when making gluten free gravy. I also save the water from the boiled potatoes, as the starch in the water adds a great consistency to the gravy.

I often roast the turkey on a bed of sliced onions (usually a 5 lb bag), then use the drippings to make onion gravy. The recipe is otherwise the same. It's the best gravy ever.

Seems you forgot two things. First, you can make your stock by boiling heart, gizzards and liver that usually come inside the turkey and second, you can make the gravy thicker by finely mincing those three organs and adding them to the gravy. You can also bolster both stock and thickeners by buying a package of gizzards etc. when you buy the turkey and boil and mince them too. Of course, you can also enrich your stock by adding a bunch of veggies. At any rate, the basic recipe gives great gravy.

Don't forget the neck - the bones add a lot of flavor. I usually don't include the liver because of it's strong metallic tang that some people don't enjoy.

To those commenting on a lack of drippings. If you use a fresh turkey (instead of supermarket frozen) you won't have as much in drippings. Frozen turkeys have been injected with a saline solution to moisten the meat (up to 15% by weight, marked clearly on the wrapper), and it makes up a lot of the what you get as liquid drippings in the bottom of the pan, with rendered fat too, of course. A fresh turkey is usually marketed differently and has not been injected with this "self-basting" solution.

Why chicken stock? Use the water that you just cooked the potatoes in. It's healthier, more flavorful and, of course, cheaper.

If you suspect this is going to happen, you can always baste the turkey with some butter and some wine during the cooking process. As the liquid drips off of the turkey, it should leave some nice drippings for your gravy.

Or...

Hopefully there will be some brown bits sticking to the bottom of the pan, and you could deglaze the pan with some chicken stock (not broth). That should give you a wonderful base for some yummy homemade gravy

You probably had a free-range turkey. They get lots of exercise and are fed very little grain and, so have very little fat.

Made turkey broth in my insta pot with just the neck (turkey neck, couple onion slices, couple mushrooms, carrot tops, couple garlics and few sprigs of thyme) Used the drippings from turkey and the stock and followed recipe. Worked great. Would adjust thickness as needed.

Roasting onions and carrots along with the turkey add to the flavor of your gravy as well as adding color

My secret to stress-free gravy is here. I was taught by my grandmother in the early 70’s and was handed the worst job in the world when she retired to make ENOUGH gravy for the crowd after the turkey came out of the oven. I would arrive sweating and stressed out at a table with people grabbing for the ladle. Make turkey stock a week or two before from roasted wings. When turkey comes out of pan, make roux, deglaze with wine, reduce great stock, add giblet, add fresh thyme , hit every time!!!!

If you don't have chicken stock at the ready, consider using apple cider instead.

Weird. I usually have a lot of liquid at the bottom.I'm not great at cooking turkey either.My dread of the year. Did you place any veggies(carrots,celery,onion) around the bottom of the pan with a cup of water? I've done fresh and frozen, never dry.Brushed with butter,always comes out greasy,overated yuck. I just rub mine with a small amount of vegetable oil. Salt and pepper the outside.Stuff the inside with Apple onion bay leaf parsley. Place veggies around the bottom w/ water. Works.