I've made my turkey in a new non stick roasting pan and I still get nice brown stuff to make gravy with. I mix my flour with chicken stock ahead of time and then after taking out the turkey I tilt the pan and try to pour off most of the excess fat. I leave a couple of tablespoons full. Then I add more chicken broth if necessary and add the premixed roux and stir it well. Then I put the whole roasting pan right on the stove burner and turn it on high while stirring constantly. After it comes to a full boil I decide if it needs more broth or not depending on how think it gets. Sometimes when I make the roux I add a dried package of turkey gravy mix to the flour before adding the broth to it to make the gravy just a little more flavorful. You can do this while the turkey rests and then slice the bird. Gravy can be reheated a little just before you serve it.
Joann

Here's how I do it. When the turkey is done and "resting" before slicing, I pour off some of the fat and put it aside. I leave maybe a quarter cup in the roasting pan along with the "bits" (although I fish out anything I don't like the looks of). I heat the fat in the roaster and then shake some flour into the fat -- maybe half a cup?? As I am adding the flour I keep stirring it with a wire whisk so I don't get any lumps.

Then I use the broth from having cooked the giblets and slowly add it to the roux, whisking the entire time. I usually have several cups of broth so I just add it until I get the texture I like. The broth has plenty of flavor, so I don't worry about getting it too thin tasting. At the end I add a little Kitchen Bouquet just to give it a nice brown color.

Other than cooking the giblets to make broth, there isn't much to do in advance. Good luck!

I bake some flour in the over when it is on and us it in the gravy.

This is what I do a day or two ahead -

Cook's Country Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy
Makes about 2 quarts
For more flavor, after roasting the turkey you can skim the drippings from the pan and add them to the gravy just before serving. It's best to discard the strong-tasting liver before using the giblets. This recipe makes enough to accompany a large turkey and still have plenty for leftovers.

6 turkey drumsticks, thighs, or wings
reserved turkey giblets
reserved turkey neck
2 carrots , chopped coarse
1 head garlic , halved
2 ribs celery , chopped coarse
2 onions , chopped coarse
Vegetable oil spray
10cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups dry white wine
12 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Table salt and ground black pepper

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Place giblets, neck, drumsticks, carrots, celery, onions, and garlic in roasting pan, spray with vegetable oil, and toss well. Roast, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
2. Transfer contents of roasting pan to Dutch oven. Add broth, wine, and thyme and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until reduced by half, about 1 1/2 hours. Pour through fine-mesh strainer into large container (discard solids), cover stock with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until fat congeals, at least 2 hours.
3. Using soup spoon, skim fat and reserve. Heat 1/2 cup fat in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until bubbling. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until honey colored, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in stock, bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Gravy can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.) Reheat gravy in saucepan over medium heat until bubbling.

(I do not use the giblets.)

I've done the make ahead gravy...But usually I do it like Joann or Pam...and using good stock/broth..homemade or boxed is the key to "flavor" power. My mom always stirred in a packet of turkey gravy to here's too..I prefer not to.

McCormick's turkey gravy mix...several pkgs. Cook giblets..use the broth add to the packet mix which takes 1 minute....I'm a pretty good cook...cook most things from scratch and make my own gravy most of the time, but I must tell you if you are so nervous about making gravy, it's really easy and really good.

I'm wondering; can I make a good gravy from just roasting a turkey breast? Will there be enough fat in the roasting pan?

Shaun, we had dinner at a friend's house last week and she roasted an Empire Kosher Turkey Breast from Trader Joe's. She made gravy (for her it was a cinch) and there seemed to be enough liquid and fat to make it work. She did add a bit of margarine (butter for the rest of you) to stretch it further.
She also used a flat whisk, something I wasn't aware of to made the gravy. I'm ordering one that's silicone coated so that I can try it too!

Ellen, Thanks for that. I had the same question since we are having two Thanksgiving dinners-one with turkey breast.

When I have a big crowd I often "extend" my turkey gravy by adding cream of chicken soup. As long as I hide the can quickly I think that works just fine. No one has complained yet.

Thanks compumom! I just noticed, this turkey (frozen) has a gravy packet in it, so I think it'll be ok!

Shaun, yes you will be able to make a very good gravy off of just a turkey breast. And you probably won't need that gravy packet. I can get at least two cups of gravy off one of those little roasting chickens.

I make gravy the same way others here do. Remove the bird from the roasting pan and leave it to rest. Place the roasting pan back on the stove. If there is too much fat, remove some of it. In the event that there isn't enough fat than add a little butter. Add enough flour to make a roux and cook for a few minutes. Add your chicken/turkey stock. I also add a little chopped fresh sage and pepper and allow the gravy to simmer on low heat on the back burner while I prepare the rest of the dinner. Serve the gravy as is or strain to remove the sage.

Add me to the list of people who use the drippings in the roasting pan, add flour and let the roux cook for a couple of minutes until it starts to brown a little, then add broth.

Amanda has finally learned to make good gravy though, using a completely different technique. She mixes a stick of softened butter with half a cup of flour, brings her broth or stock to a boil and starts adding, a tablespoonful at a time. Stir as the butter melts. When the gravy is thick enough, stop adding the flour/butter mixture, turn down the heat and stir at simmer for a couple of minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste.

Voila! Perfectly smooth gravy, every time.

Annie

Wow, a whole stick of butter? Good for Amanada. The butter flour mixture is called a beurre manié. I've never used it to make a large pot of gravy, but I use it often to thicken a sauce or a soup.

Ann

wow, i just now came back to my computer ~~ i have read all the responses & will go back & read them again ~~ what a wealth of information! ~~ thank you so much, phyl

I do much the same thing as the others, with one exception. I hate cleaning the rack the turkey sits on, so a couple of years ago I started using whole carrots, celery ribs, and onions as a bed for the turkey. The gravy that results from the drippings is fabulous. It has all the flavor of the stock made from the giblets, and doesn't suffer any if you need to add water if there isn't enough stock on hand.

THanks Ann!!

Yes, Ann, a whole stick of butter. LOL Of course, she's thin as a rail and loves gravy. That's probably why she loves it. When she was small I couldn't convince her that potatoes were even edible, mashed potatoes were simply a "bowl" to hold gravy. It's a half and half mixture of butter and flour, basically, and she got the idea from Midwest Living magazine or something. Figures, we midwesterners LOVE butter, nearly as much as Paula Deen does. (grin)

Annie

Yup Annie, definitely a beurre manié. Equal parts butter and flour. The French love their butter too. Usually it is just a couple of tablespoons of butter and flour. I sure like how Amanda thinks.

Ann

I never thought of using the mixture to thicken soup or anything else, but Amanda can make a big pot of silky smooth gravy with that mixture and know that she made enough gravy to have seconds and then hot sandwiches with gravy over them the next day. She's always thinking "leftovers" when she's making gravy, LOL.

Annie