But great tasting gravy doesn’t have to be a mystery. Anyone can make absolutely delicious gravy anytime using specific ingredients and one well kept secret.

We’ll look at the ingredients first then we’ll talk about the secret.

First you’ll need the fat and juices, which will hereafter be affectionately referred to as liquid gold, from your turkey. Second, you’ll need flour; I like ‘all purpose.’ Good now we can move on to the secret.

        “What?” You say. “That’s it, just two things?” Yep, that’s it. By using those two ingredients, you can make an amazingly good turkey gravy. One that you will be thrilled to eat and proud to serve.

And now the little known secret to making fabulous gravy:

You have to allow the flour to cook in your liquid gold long enough for it to lose its raw taste and become golden brown in appearance. This will take a few minutes but it makes a huge difference.

Once it has the right look, you are ready to add an additional 1-2 cups of the liquid gold. If you like a thinner gravy, add a bit more and you’re done.

I know this may not seem like enough, but if you treated your bird really well like I did in this post, you won’t need to add anything else to your gravy. It will be very delicious and far better than store bought.

The procedure start to finish:

1)    Add three tablespoons of turkey fat to your pan. (medium high heat)

2)    When it just starts to bubble, add an equal amount of flour.

3)    Mix vigorously so the flour does not clump

4)    Cook for 1-2 minutes

5)    Add two cups liquid gold

6)    Stir and cook until blended

7)   Add more liquid gold if needed and enjoy.

Once the turkey has cooled, its time to remove a cup or two of meat and a couple of cups of the wonderful juices that are at the bottom of the roasting pan. The juices will be used to create a delicious sauce for the potpie.

The dough takes only moments to mix up. Then I wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge while I tidy up a bit.

After that’s done, I head over to the cabinet for the canned veggies, I like diced potatoes, sliced carrots, and sweet peas.

Then I get the dough, divide it in half and roll it out. Next, I fit one half into the pie pan.

Layering the filling makes construction fast and easy. First I add the chopped turkey, next the carrots, then peas, then potatoes, then sauce. Then I put the pie top in place and add vents. Finally, I bake it at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. I allow it to cool a bit, then serve.

By this time you’re thinking that was a lot of work for a couple of cups of meat; but that’s not just any meat, it is really really good turkey. Plus a whole turkey can be used to make quite a few potpies. And with the difficult work of brining and baking the turkey behind you, you’ll have no excuse for not whipping up a great tasting homemade turkey potpie anytime, day or night.

          Such a wonderful and filling meal. And making it yourself means you can add any thing you like and as much of your filling as you like. Cups of turkey, spoonfuls of potatoes, ounces of peas, sprinkles of rice, handfuls of carrots and corn.

I use the same pie crust recipe I use for my apple pies but with half the sugar when I make a pot pie.

The first step: take care of the turkey. A really flavorful turkey pot pie depends on a properly seasoned turkey. And turkeys that want to be in my pies get very special treatment.

I start out by carefully selecting my bird. Yes that frozen one over there will do nicely. I let it defrost in the refrigerator nice and slow for 2 days. Then I remove the little goodies tucked inside and reserve them for later use.

Next, I place the bird in a very large pot, to which I add:

½ cup salt

¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon chicken bouillon

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

After that, I fill the pot with enough water to cover the turkey and place the lid on the pot. Then back in the fridge it goes for another 24 hours.

Next day, I rinse it with water and pat it dry. And finally, I bake it until it reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees. Remembering that I must allow it to cool a bit before slicing.

Then and only then is it ready to be made into a pot pie.

And I’ll tell you exactly how I do that tomorrow.