The best giblet gravy recipe to finish off your roast dinner in style.
Whenever you buy a whole bird to roast from the butcher, you should get the giblets stuffed inside it, and they are the key to making the most delicious gravy. Don't throw these precious items away, as regardless of whether or not this is a typical Sunday roast, Thanksgiving dinner, or Christmas dinner, you'll want to use them.
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🦃 What are giblets?
Giblets are the edible innards of birds like turkeys, chickens, geese, ducks, and guinea fowl. They are usually packaged up inside the cavity of the bird when you buy one whole from a butcher. When chefs refer to giblets, they mean the heart, neck, liver, kidneys, and gizzards. You might get some or all of these items in your bird, but do not use the liver when making gravy.
❓Giblets vs offal
Giblets and offal are both edible organs of an animal, but giblets refer to those of a bird, whereas offal refers to four-legged animals like sheep or cows.
📖 Ingredients List
For the giblet stock
- Neck - The neck meat will be the biggest piece of meat out of the giblets, so it is great to include.
- Heart - The heart has a rich, full taste and adds real depth.
- Kidneys - These are small and great at taking on flavor, which is why they make such tasty additions to pies and other dishes.
- Gizzards - The gizzard is part of the bird's digestive tract and is not always included, but if you have it, use it.
- Olive oil - We need a small amount of mild cooking oil to make the cooked giblets.
- Onion - We want other flavors in our giblet gravy, so we use a mirepoix as a flavor base for the stock. You can use white onion, yellow onion, red onion, or even a large shallot. Dice half the onion and leave the other half whole.
- Carrot - This adds some natural sweetness as well as flavor. We need one whole carrot, and one diced carrot. Leave them unpeeled, but clean them!
- Celery - This is the third part of the mirepoix and makes a great base vegetable to add to stocks, soups, and other dishes. Use half a whole stick and dice the other half.
- Leek - I also like to add some chopped leeks when roasting the giblets and making the stock.
- Bouquet garni - I tie together some fresh thyme, parsley, and bay leaves with cooking string to make a flavor bomb for the giblet stock.
- Peppercorns - A few whole peppercorns add the perfect amount of warmth. Alternatively, use freshly ground black pepper.
🌟 Top Tip 🌟
Do not use the liver; it has too strong a taste, which can sometimes be bitter, and it will overpower the giblet gravy. Instead, use it to make pâté by frying it up in some butter and diced shallot, and then adding a splash of vermouth and cream and blending it until smooth.
For the giblet gravy
We use the giblet stock to make the base for the homemade gravy and then finish it off afterward, so it can be made ahead of time. These are the extra bits you will need.
- Butter - I always use unsalted butter in cooking so that I can control the quality and quantity of salt in the recipe. I prefer butter from grass-fed cows with 82% fat content or above. We use butter to make a roux and then whisk some into the giblet gravy right at the end, too, for a glossy finish.
- Flour - Use all purpose flour or plain flour as a thickener to get smooth, thick gravy.
- Wine - This is optional but just adds even more flavor - the alcohol burns off. Use white wine for a lighter flavor or red wine for something more robust. I'd recommend using red wine for turkey, capon, goose, or duck.
- Salt and pepper - Season the giblet gravy right at the end so you can taste it first.
See the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for full quantities and step-by-step directions on how to make the best giblet gravy.
👩🏼🍳 Instructions
Making homemade giblet gravy is easy, and it adds so much flavor. Making this classic recipe for good gravy takes a bit of forward planning so that once the bird is cooked, you are ready to go. Here's how to make giblet gravy regardless of whether you have a whole turkey, capon, chicken, duck, goose, or any bird.
How to make giblet stock
Remove the bag of giblets from the bird's neck cavity, and discard the liver or use it for other dishes. Blot any excess moisture with paper towels.
Place the giblets on a baking tray with half the onion, a stick of celery, a carrot, and a few pieces of leek and roast in the oven at 175C/345F for around 15-20 minutes until they are browned.
We want the giblets to have a golden brown color on them for a rich stock. And for the vegetables to be slightly caramelized for the best flavor.
Place the roasted giblets and vegetables, herbs, peppercorns, and remaining mirepoix into a large saucepan with 1 liter of cold water and gently boil for 1-2 hours to reduce by half. Sieve the stock and retain the liquid.
How to make giblet gravy
- Heat the butter in a saucepan, and when it melts and the crackling starts to die down, whisk in the flour to make a paste (known as a roux).
- Slowly pour in the wine whilst continuing to whisk to avoid lumps.
- Bring to a gentle boil, reduce the wine by a third over medium heat, then stir in the homemade giblet stock.
- Cook the giblet gravy for 10-15 minutes at a gentle boil over medium low heat to reduce the liquid and allow it to thicken as the flour cooks out.
- Before serving, whisk in some chunks of very cold butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.
🌟 Top Tip 🌟
You will definitely want to add the pan drippings for the most flavorful gravy after your bird is finished roasting. Deglaze the roasting pan with a splash more stock, scrape all the sticky bits off with a wooden spoon or spatula, then add to the giblet gravy. You can also add meat juices if you separate off the fat.
👩🏼🍳 Chef's Notes & Serving suggestions
This classic giblet gravy is intended to be served with a roast dinner, complete with all the trimmings. You can make it go further by adding the meat juices too, once the bird is cooked.
I sometimes make the gravy directly in the roasting pan after finishing the bird whilst it is resting. This way, you make best use of all the flavors in the bottom of the pan. But only do this if your oven tray can also be used on the stovetop.
Sometimes, I will get giblets inside a whole chicken or other bird and not have time to do anything with them. So, I freeze the giblet meat, and then I make this easy giblet gravy recipe from it at a later date.
🍷 Wine pairing for giblet gravy
If you are serving this giblet gravy with roast Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas turkey during the holiday season, serve a good quality Rhone Valley red wine. For example, a Chateauneuf du Pape. With roast chicken, roasted guinea fowl, or roast duck, I prefer to serve a light and fruity Pinot Noir.
🥣 Equipment
You will need an oven tray to roast giblets and vegetables. Don't use one that is too deep or with high sides, as this allows for steam build-up and prevents caramelization.
Make the giblet stock in a large saucepan, and then you will need another medium saucepan for making the gravy.
❄️ Storage & Freezing
Store leftover giblet gravy in the fridge in an airtight container and use it within 2-3 days. Gently reheat the leftover gravy on the stovetop and whisk in some butter before serving.
You can also freeze giblet gravy. Pour it into an airtight container and use it within one month. I will sometimes freeze gravy in a large ice cube to get individual portions!
❓FAQ
I allow around 125ml of gravy per person, or around ½ cup.
Yes, you can use giblets to make homemade gravy before cooking the bird and refrigerate it for 2-3 days until needed. Reheat the make-ahead giblet gravy gently and whisk in some cold chunks of butter before serving for a glossy finish.
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📖 Recipe
How To Make The Best Giblet Gravy
Equipment
- 1 large saucepan/stock pot
Ingredients
Giblet stock
- 1 bag Giblets (neck, kidneys, heart, gizzards) Do not use the liver
- 1 Onion
- 2 Carrots
- 1 Celery stick
- 1 Leek
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 tablespoon Fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoon Fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon Black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon Cooking oil
- 1 liter (4¼ cups) Water
Giblet gravy
- 2 tablespoon Unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon All-purpose flour or plain flour
- 150 ml (⅔ cup) Wine
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Giblet stock
- Preheat the oven to 175C/345F.
- Make the mirepoix by dicing one of the carrots, half the onion, half the celery stick, and half the leek.
- Place the remaining whole vegetables on a tray with the giblets and drizzle over the oil. Toss to coat everything and then roast for 15-20 minutes until the giblets have browned and the vegetables have slightly caramelized.
- Place the mirepoix, herbs, peppercorns, and roasted giblets and vegetables into a large saucepan and pour over the water. Bring to a gentle boil for 1-2 hours, and reduce the liquid by half. Sieve the giblet stock and refrigerate or freeze until needed.
Giblet gravy
- Melt half the butter in a saucepan, and when the crackling starts to die down, stir in the flour vigorously to form a paste (a roux).
- Whisk in the wine, bring to a gentle simmer, and reduce by a third. Then, stir in the giblet stock.
- Cook the giblet gravy for 10-15 minutes to cook out the flour and allow it to thicken. Before serving, season with salt and pepper and whisk in a tablespoon of very cold butter to get a glossy finish.
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