Traditional Style:
- After the turkey is roasted, remove the turkey to a carving platter and pour off all the liquid (fat, drippings, and juices) into a tall, narrow container, like a pitcher or into a fat/gravy separator. If there is still a lot of drippings stuck to the bottom of the roasting pan, add water and scrape up and add this to the pitcher as well. The fat will float to the top after a few minutes. Transfer the fat into a measuring cup, make a note as to how much fat is there. Measure flour in the amount of 1 ½ times the amount of fat (if there is 1 cup of fat, measure 1 ½ cups of flour.
- Make the roux. Pour the fat into a heavy saucepan, heat over medium heat and add the flour to the fat, stirring until smooth with a wooden spoon. Cook this flour for a few minutes while stirring so the mixture goes from a white color to a light golden color. If you want a darker gravy, you can cook the flour mixture longer, but do not burn. Remove from the heat and reserve for thickening your gravy. You will most likely have more roux than you need, you can refrigerate and use to thicken future sauces if desired.
- Pour the juices and drippings from the turkey into a large, heavy bottom saucepan. (Strain the dripping if you want a totally smooth gravy). If there is not enough juice/drippings for your need, add chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water to the pan to suit your needs. Bring the liquid up to a boil, and while whisking, add a tablespoon of the reserved fat and flour mixure at a time, whisking until it is totally dissolved. Return the liquid to a full boil, check thickness by lifting some of the sauce out with a ladle and pouring back into the pot, and add more flour and fat as necessary. This may take many additions depending on how much drippings/juice you have. When the gravy is to your desired thickness, season to taste with salt and pepper. If a darker gravy is desired, you can add a few drops of a darkener sauce like Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet. Strain the gravy if desired. Serve hot.
For Lighter Au Jus Style:
- Discard the fat from separating process as above. Place the juices in a saucepan, heat up and season to taste with salt and pepper, fresh herbs, etc. Serve hot.
For Low Fat but Thickened:
- Discard the fat from the separating process as above. Place the juices in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Make a slurry out of cornstarch or arrowroot by placing the starch in a small bowl and adding a small amount of cold water and stirring to dissolve. The texture of the slurry should be like thin maple syrup. Gradually pour a little of this slurry at a time into the boiling juices while whisking. Return to a boil and check thickness. Add more as needed, season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.
