I agree - I make this gravy every year. Here is the recipe in case someone hasn't seen it yet:

COOKS COUNTRY - MAKE AHEAD 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.

Wow! Why didn't I think of that, bliz! With a little more thought, the reason I didn't is that I have induction and my roasting pan isn't induction capable. Might have to do something different next year. But I don't have anything big enough to do that recipe. Glad you enjoyed your gravy. We did too, but it was a rather light color.

Tried this for the first time this year - it was wonderful! I've always hated the last minute gravy making and this definitely solved that problem.

This is the second year I've made woodie's gravy. The flavor is great, I love how much it makes, & it's wonderful to be able to make it ahead & get it out of the way.

I wonder if anyone has tried the same method with beef? I'm thnking of trying it using ribs and/or a small chuck roast.

Kathleen I did make a big batch of beef gravy using some beef ribs I found on the" day before" sale table. The price was good I couldn't resist. Worked like a charm!

My second Thanksgiving using this recipe, and people swooned over it the way they did the first time. It is so rich and flavorful without being pasty and salty. The texture is like velvet. Everyone went home with the recipe.

I can't even begin to say how much it eases the stress of making the meal to have the gravy perfectly prepared beforehand.

Add me to the list of people who tried it for the first time this year. I loved it. I found the flour wasn't enough to thicken it, I got about 9 cups. I normally use cornstarch to thicken gravy so I wasn't sure how to handle flour after the fact. I wound up mixing flour with some melted butter and it got thick enough. It reheated really well.

I think I will be sticking with this recipe for future holidays, no stress gravy is a wonderful thing.

I'm going to try the ribs, chase. Thanks for the encouragement!

I too tried this recipe for the first time and loved it. I will definitely make this again.

KathleenCA - I wanted to start a thread on Make-Ahead-Beef gravy as I plan to serve a Prime Roast for Christmas and would love to have the gravy pre-made. I'm hoping others will chime in on this, but would you please post your findings?

I made it this year for the first time and it was a huge success! My daughter went to her in-laws later in the day, and they had jar gravy--she said she could hardly eat it. She said "there's no going back after having the homemade gravy". I did not use wine, and it was still very tasty.

Ditto on the beef adaptation! I intend to do it for Christmas and will post results, too.

CoolBeans - Did you see my post on Au Jus? There are a couple of good recipes there. Let me know what you do and how it turns out. :-)

Jeri

Jeri, thank you, I hadn't seen your make ahead au jus. I like its fundamentals -- roasted soup bones and beef shank and onions. I will probably triple the onions, then deglaze the roasting pan with some red wine (a la Woodie's turkey gravy) and then proceed with additional stock, carrots, and celery for lengthy simmering. Strained it should make a great au jus. I'll probably gravy-tize it with a roux and stir in sauteed mushrooms and lots of ground pepper at the end. (Ummm, only 24 days til Christmas . . .)

I haven't made the gravy yet, Jeri, but will add to your new post when I do. Thanks!