Here?s a delicious gluten-free gravy for Thanksgiving.

Now?s the time to start planning your Thanksgiving meal? or, in my case, start dolling out responsibilities! 

Here is a no-fail, highly aromatic, and incredibly delicious gravy that can be used with either turkey or roast this Thanksgiving meal.

The original recipe comes from cooksillustrated.com and it wasn?t gluten free.  I?ve made notations on substitutions.  If you?re not familiar with cookillustrated.com, you are missing out.  This website literally taught me how to cook!  Plus, there is a free 2-week trial offer.

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

1 small carrot, peeled and chopped into rough ½-inch pieces (about ½ cup)

1 small rib celery, chopped into rough ½-inch pieces (about ½ cup)

1 small onion, chopped into rough ½-inch pieces (about ¾ cup)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used salted and it was just fine)

¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour (I substituted with gluten-free rice flour.  You?ll want to add more to make it thicker)

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 cups low-sodium beef broth

1 bay leaf

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

5 whole black peppercorns

Instructions

1.     In food processor, pulse carrot until broken into rough ¼-inch pieces, about five 1-second pulses (actually, mine ended up being just short of pureed and it worked just fine).  Add celery and onion; pulse until all vegetables are broken into 1/8-inch pieces, about five 1-second pulses.

2.     Heat butter in large heavy-bottomed saucepan (I used a dutch oven) over medium-high heat; when foaming subsides, add vegetables and cook, stirring frequently until softened and well browned, about 7 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium; stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes.  Whisking constantly, gradually add broths; bring to boil, skimming off any foam that forms on surface (there will be plenty of this!).  Reduce heat to medium-low and add bay leaf, thyme, and peppercorns; simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to 3 cups, 20 to 25 minutes (mine did not reduce much? but then again I quadrupled the recipe!).

3.     Strain gravy through fine-mesh strainer into clean saucepan, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids.  Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.  Serve hot.

www.cooksillustrated.com

Published November 1, 2003

Happy meal planning!