Make Ahead Turkey Gravy

Ahhhhh, Thanksgiving. My favorite holiday of all. I love planning/cooking/eating -- every aspect of Thanksgiving dinner (except cleanup). This recipe became a lifesaver for me, because before I found it, I usually ended up with some gross, lumpy, tasteless mess that could never pass for gravy! This makes perfect gravy every time, and you don't have to mess with pan drippings on the big day.

4 turkey wings (about 3 to 4 lb)
2 medium onions, cut up
1 cup water
8 cups chicken broth
1 chopped carrot
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Heat oven to 400°F. You’ll need a large roasting pan, a 5- to 6-qt pot and a 3-qt saucepan.

Put wings in a single layer in pan; scatter onions on top. Roast 1 1/4 hours or until wings are browned.

Put wings and onions in pot. Add water to roasting pan; stir to scrape up any brown bits on bottom. Add to pot. Add 6 cups broth (refrigerate remaining 2 cups), the carrots and thyme. Simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours.

Remove wings. When cool, pull off skin and meat. Discard skin; save meat for another use.

Strain broth into saucepan; skim fat off broth.

Whisk flour into remaining 2 cups broth until well blended and smooth.

Bring broth in saucepan to a gentle boil. Whisk in flour mixture; boil 5 minutes to thicken gravy. Stir in butter and pepper.

Plan ahead: Freeze up to 1 month. When thawed, purée in blender, then reheat.