Turkey Gravy

The Best Turkey Gravy

I am of the opinion that the very best Turkey Gravy is made from the renderings of a Roasted Turkey that was seasoned and brined.  So hopefully you followed my Turkey Brine recipe or at least made one before you cooked your bird because this gravy recipe depends on it.  There aren’t many additional ingredients to this recipe because most of the ingredients are already there, cooked into the turkey.  So, if you’re getting exhausted and you’re looking for an amazing gravy recipe that is easy to prepare… this is the recipe for you!

Traditional vs. Gourmet Turkey Gravy

Traditional Turkey Gravy is made virtually the same with only a few subtle differences.  Gourmet gravy has flavors most folks don’t think about that profoundly effect the flavor, like citrus.  Some use lemon… I use orange, some use sherry or wine… I use beer but either way, these all produce gravy that is out of this world.  All of the other ingredients, as I mentioned before, come from the marination of the brine and the added ingredients to the roasted bird.

My Roasted Turkey, for example, is stuffed with onion, oranges and seasoned butter stuffed under the skin of the breast meat.  These ingredients, cooked down in the oven, produce drippings that create the most wonderful flavor and that’s why we use it to make gravy.  Traditional gravy uses this method as well only the gravy base is usually started with butter and flavor to make a roux.  You can do that too, if your prefer, but I keep the flour out of my recipe and I use a small amount of corn starch instead, to thicken the gravy.  I also often start my gravy recipes with bacon grease instead of the butter, because that adds more flavor as well.  Other than the addition of the fruit, tomato and rosemary, everything else is basically the same.  It’s also common to make a stock, using the turkey giblets, and add that to the gravy for flavor but that will be up to you.

Turkey Gravy Ingredients:

1 Onion, chopped
2 Oranges, pealed and separated
1 Sprig Rosemary
1/4 cup Cider
Add all of the Roasted Turkey Drippings
1/2 can Beer
2 tbsp Corn Starch, mixed with 2 tbsp water
Salt and Pepper to taste, I use white pepper.

Be sure to follow the instructions in the Turkey Gravy video tutorial and I’ll show you just how easy this is to make.

Pork Chorizo – How to make Chorizo from Scratch

The Best Pork Chorizo

This Pork Chorizo recipe is excellent and on point.  It’s got everything you want in a great Chorizo and it’s fun and easy to make.  In this post and video tutorial, I show you how to make sausage stuffed in hog casings and I give you the option of making sausage links that you can grill or make a real pasty Chorizo that you can combine with Eggs for breakfast, homemade Chili or some amazing burritos like this Chimichanga recipe.

Making Pork Chorizo From Scratch

You’re going to need a good Pork Roast and either Pork Belly Fat or Fat Back.  I use 3 parts, a 2 to 1 ratio; 2 parts Pork to 1 part fat.  I cut everything down into portions that will fit through my meat grinder and then mix in all of my other ingredients.  From there it’s like clock work, stuffing the hog casings and twisting links.  Now there are some alternatives to this recipe that I’d like to mention.  If you don’t want to make sausage links you can twist the sausage up in saran wrap and I show you how to do that in my Italian Sausage video found HERE.

If you want a pasty Pork Chorizo, you’re going to want to make my homemade Enchilada Sauce and add it to this recipe.  There’s nothing else like it.  My recipe is thick and pure, so you’ll want to check it out before you decide to add your own or resort to a canned product.

If you’re interested in more recipes that use a kitchen aide to stuff hog casings, you should take a look at my Cajun Boudin recipe.

Pork Chorizo Ingredients:

2 lbs Pork Shoulder/Butt, ground
1 lbs Pork Belly Fat or Fat Back, ground

3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
2 tbsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1/4 cup Smoked Paprika
1 tbsp Cumin
1 tbsp Corn Syrup or Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Chili flakes
1 1/2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 Lard or Shortening

1 cup Enchilada Sauce, optional (CLICK HERE)

Follow the directions in my Pork Chorizo video tutorial and I’ll show you how easy this recipe is to make.

Garlic Parmesan Chicken

The Best Garlic Parmesan Chicken Recipe

This Garlic Parmesan Chicken recipe is very simple and delicious.  It can be made with white or dark meat, breaded or bare, pan fried or baked.  It’s entirely up to you.  This recipe is even good over wings and chicken legs if you’re just looking for a side dish.  The point is, Garlic Parmesan Chicken is so versatile it can practically be done anyway you want to cook it.  I even use these exact same ingredients over Brussels Sprouts, it’s that good.

The way I like Garlic Parmesan Chicken

My personal favorite way to cook this recipe is with chicken thigh meat cut into small pieces.  In fact, that’s how I like my Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo.  Cooking the chicken this way just adds so much more depth to the pasta and sauce.  So I highly recommend you add your Garlic Parmesan Chicken to your favorite noodles.  You can check out my Alfredo recipe HERE if you’d like.  Of course when I say “my” I mean The Olive Gardens! 😉

If you’re interested in other chicken recipes be sure to check out my Jamaican Jerk Chicken and my Blackened Chicken Alfredo or look over this Chicken Recipes Playlist for more options.

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Ingredients:

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
2 tbsp Olive Oil
6 Garlic Cloves, chopped
1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
2 tbsp Salted Butter (optional)
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

The instructions in my Garlic Parmesan Chicken video recipe tutorial is very easy to follow.  However, I don’t use any butter in the cooking, though it’s clearly in the ingredients as an option.  I do this for health reasons.  For me the Olive Oil is enough but the added butter does make this dish taste even better.  So consider adding it if it’s something you would normally do to make your Garlic Parmesan Chicken perfect.