Make Ahead Turkey Drippings

You can make turkey drippings ahead of time, up to a week before Thanksgiving, using turkey legs, wings, and necks. Roast them with aromatics, deglaze the pan, and keep the drippings! Keep it in the fridge and when Thanksgiving comes, your gravy base is already done. No panicking needed at the last minute!

In addition to turkey drippings, make some turkey stock ahead of time for your stuffing and gravy!

A Note from Teri on Turkey Drippings

Thanksgiving is my Super Bowl, and make ahead turkey drippings is one of the best hacks, and not enough people know about it.

The problem with turkey gravy is that it’s supposed to happen at the exact moment when everything else is happening. The turkey just came out, it needs to rest, the potatoes need to be mashed, everything else needs to stay warm, and the kitchen is crowded. That is not the time to be making gravy from scratch.

To avoid this last minute panic, I make the drippings a few days ahead. I roast turkey legs, wings, and necks until they’re deeply golden, deglaze the pan, and collect all of that liquid gold. It goes into jars in the fridge. On Thanksgiving, I use those drippings to make the gravy. No stress about having enough drippings, and no sacrificing flavor. You’ll get to make perfect gravy every time.

For a full thanksgiving menu, find your turkey recipe here, or this turkey breast for a smaller group, and a full rundown of what I love to put on a Thanksgiving table here.

Why This Works

Turkey drippings are the flavor base of any great turkey gravy. The problem is that you normally only get them from the turkey itself, which means you can’t make gravy until after the bird comes out of the oven, and you cross your fingers that you have enough drippings to make enough gravy.

This make ahead method solves that problem. Turkey legs, wings, and necks are more affordable, and they’re usually available at any grocery store close to Thanksgiving. They produce extraordinary drippings when roasted with aromatics. You roast them hot first at 450F to get deep browning, then deglaze with chicken stock and cover, cooking for another hour at 350F to get every bit of flavor from the bones.

What comes out of the pan is a perfectly savory turkey dripping liquid. It has all the flavor of drippings from a whole roasted turkey for a fraction of the price. You jar it, refrigerate it, and use it exactly as you would use Thanksgiving-day drippings. The gravy you make from it will taste like you spent all day on it!

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Turkey legs, wings, and necks: The mix of these is flexible. Use whatever combination fits in your roasting pan that you can find in the store. You will use about 9 pounds total for this recipe. These cuts are more affordable and available at most grocery stores before Thanksgiving.
• Carrots, celery, and onion: Roughly cut aromatics that roast alongside the turkey pieces. These vegetables build the flavor base of the drippings, so don’t skip them.
• Olive oil: You will use a little oil to drizzle over everything before roasting.
• Celtic Sea Salt® and black pepper: Season the turkey and vegetables before they go in the oven.
• Chicken stock: Use the stock to deglaze the pan after the first roast. This loosens all the browned bits and adds to your liquid gold in the drippings.

How to Make Turkey Drippings

Step One: Prep Turkey and Begin Roast

Preheat the oven to 450F. Arrange vegetables and turkey pieces in a large roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil over everything and season with salt and pepper. 

Place the roasting pan in the oven and roast for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes, or until the turkey is golden brown, turning the turkey pieces over halfway through cooking time.

Step Two: Finish Roast & Drain, Strain and Retain

Add the chicken stock to the pan to deglaze and loosely cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil. Lower the oven temperature to 350F and continue roasting for another hour. 

Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Remove the turkey pieces and vegetables from the pan and pour the drippings into jars to store. Eat the vegetables and enjoy the turkey. 

How to Use Your Drippings

When you’re ready to make gravy, skim most of the fat off the top of the drippings and warm the drippings in a saucepan. In a separate pan, whisk equal parts fat and flour over medium heat until it turns a golden color. Slowly whisk in the warm drippings, a little at a time, until smooth and pourable. Add stock as needed to continue thinning to the right consistency. Simmer for a few minutes and season to taste.

You can also use these drippings exactly as you would use the drippings from your Thanksgiving turkey: add them to whatever liquid comes from the roasting pan to stretch the gravy and deepen the flavor!

Tip for Make Ahead Turkey Drippings

• Get real browning on the first roast. The color you get in the first hour at a high temp is crucial. That’s where the flavor is.
• Don’t skip the deglaze. All those browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan are concentrated flavor. The stock loosens them and pulls them into the drippings so you don’t lose that flavor.
• Leave the fat in. When you refrigerate the drippings, the fat rises to the top and solidifies. The fat is flavor and it also protects the drippings in the fridge. The fat will be easy to remove when you are ready to use.
• Make them up to a week ahead. The whole point of this method is to get it off your Thanksgiving to-do list entirely. Make them on the weekend before, jar them, and store them in the fridge until Thursday.

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