Enlarge Image
POUR CHOICE | This simple, silky gravy can serve as the jumping-off point for all kinds of delectable variations, incorporating everything from giblets to truffles. F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal, Styling by Anne Cardenas
LIKE "JOY OF COOKING" author Irma S. Rombauer, I come from a family where "gravy is considered a beverage"—at least during the holidays. More often than not, a childhood Thanksgiving produced an overcooked turkey, rescued from ridicule at the last minute by my mother's sumptuous, golden-brown take on that age-old sauce, deeply resonant with giblets, mushrooms, brandy and fresh herbs.
Now that we brine our birds aggressively and snatch them from the oven long before they reach Mom's requisite 180 degrees, gravy's place on the holiday groaning board is to enhance and delight rather than to compensate for shortcomings. With minimal know-how, making great gravy is child's play. The basic steps are outlined below, but here are a few additional tips.

Variations

MUSHROOM GRAVY: To the finished gravy, add 1 pound of mushrooms (button, portobello, cremini, chanterelle, morel or a mixture) that have been chopped and sautéed in melted butter.
TRUFFLE GRAVY: Replace the ¼ pound of unsalted butter with ¼ pound of black-truffle butter. For a fuller flavor, swirl 2 additional tablespoons of truffle butter into the finished gravy.
CREAM GRAVY: Replace the 2 tablespoons alcohol with heavy cream, or add cream in addition to the alcohol.
GIBLET GRAVY: Add 1 cup of chopped cooked giblets to the finished gravy.
FRESH HERB GRAVY: Stir 4 tablespoons of chopped fresh sage, parsley, chives or a combination of herbs into the finished gravy or into any of the other variations.
Beginning with a roux—fat and flour whisked together for a couple of minutes over a flame—and then adding hot liquid and cooking until thick, you can tweak the type and amount of fat, liquid, seasonings and aromatics to vary flavor, consistency and texture. All-purpose wheat flour is my thickener of choice; it produces a smooth, velvety sauce minus the glossy artificiality you tend to get when using cornstarch.
Gravy that incorporates pan drippings—capitalizing on the flavorful fat rendered during roasting as well as those yummy bits scraped up from the bottom of the pan—is tastiest. My mother concocted her magic potion directly in the roasting pan, but I prefer the control gained by transferring the drippings, combined with a little stock, to a clean saucepan.
If you want to prepare your gravy in advance, use butter instead of pan fat and replace the drippings with a "quick" stock made by simmering the neck, wing tips and giblets of your turkey with some chicken stock for an hour or two while the main event is in the oven. But do bear in mind that the turkey requires at least 20 minutes of resting before carving, so you'll have plenty of time to de-fat the drippings and make your gravy at the last minute without feeling the least bit rushed.
Whether you opt for the classic iteration or choose to embellish with mushrooms, truffles, giblets, cream or fresh herbs, relax. From here on, it's all gravy.

Ingredients
Enlarge Image
Clockwise from top left: 2 tablespoons Cognac, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1 large yellow onion, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, defatted turkey drippings, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 1 stick unsalted butter and 1-2 cloves garlic Illustrations by Bruce Hutchison for The Wall Street Journal
2 tablespoons Cognac, Port or Madeira
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
Defatted turkey drippings combined with enough chicken or turkey stock to equal 2½ cups, hot, plus extra stock as needed
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced (optional)

The Steps
Enlarge Image
Step 1 Illustration by Bruce Hutchison for The Wall Street Journal
1. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, cook butter, onions and garlic until onions are light golden, about 15 minutes.

Enlarge Image
Step 2 Illustration by Bruce Hutchison for The Wall Street Journal
2. Sprinkle flour over onions and garlic. Add salt and pepper and whisk in. Cook, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes.

Enlarge Image
Step 3 Illustration by Bruce Hutchison for The Wall Street Journal
3. Whisk in hot stock mixture, tomato paste if using and Cognac, and cook, stirring, until thickened, 4-5 minutes. Gravy should be the consistency of heavy cream. Add more stock if too thick. Adjust seasoning and serve.