Gravy is usually not my favorite Thanksgiving word. The often brown, gelatinous, lumpy sauce that smothers my beautifully whipped potatoes and from-scratch sausage stuffing mostly makes me angry. I’m aware this may not win me fan fame, but I’m neither a poutine enthusiast nor a advid consumer of the Chinese brown sauce that covers so many chicken and broccoli dishes across the globe. Maybe not all brown sauce is created equal?

THIS gravy, however, tickles my fancy in all the right places! Not only am I happy to smother my Thanksgiving meal with this gravy I could drink it, it’s that good. I discovered this recipe about 10 years ago and both the turkey and the gravy come out tops. This year, we did a Thanksgiving picnic at a park pavilion, so I used the same recipe but made just a turkey breast instead of a whole bird. After cooking the turkey I transferred the breast, cooked apples and onion with all the juices into a Crock-Pot until ready to serve and then sliced it just before we ate, then left it to soak in all its juices. Nailed it! I think I’ll make this more often throughout the year it was so easy.
Save this in your recipe box for next year, I’ll keep it here on Pipsqueaking.com for you too. So here she is…https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/herb-roasted-turkey-with-apple-cider-gravy-108793
A FEW TIPS: Under no circumstances should you omit the marjoram or the Calvados – they are uber important to the depth of flavors that make this gravy toes curling good. If you can find fresh marjoram, perfect, if not at least shoot for the dried stuff. The recipe doubles perfectly so feel free to make extra – trust me you’re gonna want more. It’s a bit time consuming to make so fear not to make the base ahead of time up to 2 days. If you choose to make the turkey – to brine or not to brine there are so many schools of thought. I’m a die-hard briner myself. Heck, I brine my turkey thighs for chicken salad. So yes, brine!

What do you think?