Turkey Gravy

[gunslinger]

Hey all. I have somewhat of a dilema. I am smoking turkeys this year for my family and at work. I have smoked turkey before, just not for Thanksgiving. We always make a traditional meal.
My family still wants turkey gravy. I figured I could put a catch pan under the birds on a lower rack. Has anyone done this before? How does turkey gravy taste with a hint of smoke? I don't think my gravies are anything special, but everyone else does. So I don't want to disappoint. Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[cajunsmoker]

Hi GS,

I don't know if it will help or not, but I save the neck and giblets and any fat I trim from the turkey and then boil them down to make my my gravy. I just use regular oil and flour to make a roux and then use the cooled liquid from the turkey parts to finish it off. My folks love it this way. I you don't like giblets then just use the meat parts and skip the innards

.

 

[up in smoke]

Yeah, you can always puree the giblets! Thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s where the flavor is! Mmmmmm Smack! :roll:

 

[gunslinger]

Well, I never thought about rendering the fat from the bird. We do it all the time with pork and beef for gravies. Still I can't help but wonder what gravy would taste like with some smoke flavored drippings. Might have to try it sometime just to find out.
As for the giblets, we always put in extra from our butchered chickens anyway. I bag the giblets seperate from the rest of the chickens and we'll make a meal of just hearts, gizzards, livers, or a combination of the three.

 

[Dutch]

I use an aluminum foil pan on the lowest rack of the GOSM to catch the turkey drippings. If you're careful pulling the birds off the smoker, you can pour out the jucies that collect in the cavity and use it in the gravy too.