Food & Wine USA - (11)November 2020

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42 NOVEMBER 2020

DEAR GRAVY, TAKE THIS THANKSGIVING OFF. It’s not you;

it’s me. I’ve been chasing a meatier, more deeply savory

sauce for turkey, a lip-smacking jus so pure and unadul-

terated that your thickening agents of flour and fat would

only diminish its flavor.

My turkey jus starts a couple of days before the feast by

browning turkey wings and necks over a bed of aromatic

vegetables in a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet, a pan

low-slung enough to aid in caramelization yet tall enough

to capture the valuable juices that drip and concentrate

on the bottom. After deglazing the pan with wine and

lovingly scraping up every last browned bit, two rounds

of simmering and straining produce a two-for-one special:

the first a gelatinous brown stock to be reduced down

into one quart of the aforementioned jus, the second a

quart of blond turkey stock meant for flavoring mashed

potatoes or stuffing.

It’s okay, gravy. We can still be friends. See you around

for Sunday supper? —HUNTER LEWIS

Saucework Step aside, gravy.

This year, we’re going all in

for turkey jus.

THE ODE

photography by VICTOR PROTASIO

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