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Keto Gravy

This Keto Gravy uses turkey necks and soy sauce which packs an umami flavor to your mashed Cauliflower or Roast.

Keto Gravy

Any gravy fans out there? I must admit, I have never really loved gravy. Sure, it pairs perfectly with mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving and goes nicely with a roast as a complimentary sauce but I was never all about the gravy. 

Wow, I said gravy a lot in this post already. Anyway, I discovered that the key to “blow your socks off” gravy is to make your own stock using Turkey parts.

That all changed last year when I hosted Thanksgiving and made Anthony Bourdain’s Red Wine Turkey Stock Gravy. I then realized the problem, I’ve never had good gravy and that is why I was never into gray. 

I also realized that not a lot of people do that anymore. Every year, I struggle to find those parts at the store weeks before Thanksgiving. This year I called every Whole Foods and butcher shop that I knew and no one had any turkey necks. 

Finally, my husband suggested I call Meijer, and surprisingly they had them. They were frozen, but that didn’t matter at that point. I bought enough turkey necks and wings to last me at least five years of making gravy from scratch.

This recipe was inspired by a gravy recipe I had seen in Bon Appetit Magazine in their Thanksgiving issue. I noticed the ingredients had mushrooms and soy sauce and I thought that would make an amazing-tasting gravy.

Well, it did! However, there was one problem; thickening it.

Keto Gravy

For anyone following Keto, you know that flour is a no-no. Unfortunately, most gravy recipes use flour to thicken the gravy. Yes, there are some flour substitutes for Keto, but they can change the flavor and texture of the gravy and I didn’t want to risk that happening. 

So, what are some thickening agents you can use on Keto? Here is a list of the ones I know of:

Since I didn’t want to affect the flavor or texture of the gravy, I decided to use beef gelatin. In the past, I had used Xanthan Gum to thicken food and ended up putting in too much which turned the food into a solid glob and gave it a really weird taste. 

ingredients

If I was making this gravy for myself and could just experiment with it, I may have tried Xanthan Gum again, however, this was one of my Keto Christmas Dinner Party menu items and I didn’t want to risk it going bad. 

Let me just get to the punch line; the gravy didn’t thicken. I started with 1 tsp of beef gelatin, then 2 and eventually I put in 2 tablespoons but it was still liquid.

After chilling overnight the gravy became jello-like until I reheated it, then it was back to liquid form. Frustrated, I had two options; I could use another Keto thickener alternative, or I could just leave it as is. 

Chilled sauce

For the sake of not ruining the flavor, I left it. It was very delicious, but not gravy consistency. I’m telling you all of this so that if you try this recipe you don’t get frustrated that the gravy isn’t thickening. Feel free to try the other thickening agents and if you succeed without ruining the taste and texture of the gravy, please comment below and tell me what you used and how much of it so I can redo the recipe. 

Eventually, I will figure it out and I will edit this post to accommodate the changes that make this Keto Gravy thick like gravy is supposed to be. For now, let’s say this is a very flavorful gravy “sauce” for Cauliflower Mash and Roasts. 

Keto Gravy
Keto Gravy

Keto Gravy

Yield: 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp avocado oil
  • 2 turkey necks
  • 1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • A small handful of rosemary sprigs, thyme sprigs, and/or bay leaves
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 6 cups   chicken broth or turkey stock
  • 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 2 tbsp Beef Gelatin
  • 1 tbsp Tamari 
  • Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Cook turkey neck until golden brown all over, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
  2. Add mushrooms to the same saucepan and cook over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until browned all over about 5 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown around the edges and softened 6–8 minutes. Add herbs and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in the wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil and cook until wine is almost completely evaporated about 5 minutes.
  3. Return turkey neck to the pan and add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by a third, 25–30 minutes. Strain broth into a glass bowl  (You should have 4 cups. If needed, add more broth or water to get you there.) Keep warm while you make the roux.
  4. Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium.
  5. Once butter is melted, whisk in Beef Gelatin and cook, whisking constantly, until roux is golden brown and looks smooth and shiny about 3 minutes.
  6. Whisking constantly, ladle fortified broth into the roux, pouring in gradually and incorporating after each addition before adding more.
  7. Simmer, whisking often, until gravy is reduced.
  8. Stir in Tamari. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Nutrition Information

Amount Per Serving Calories 137Total Fat 8gCarbohydrates 3gFiber 1gProtein 8g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Keto Gravy

Want to see the rest of my Keto Christmas Recipes? You can find them HERE.

More Keto Recipes to try:

  1. Very Berry Keto Smoothie Bowl
  2. Peanut Butter Chocolate Smoothie Bowl
  3. Clean Keto Beef Stew
  4. Keto Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary
  5. The Best Keto Thanksgiving Recipes

10 thoughts on “Keto Gravy”

  1. This gravy is so good! I had leftover turkey parts from Thanksgiving so I made it using whatever I had and it turned out so flavorful. I added xanthan gum to mine and it thickened pretty well!

  2. I love love love this recipe!!! Right down to the chili powder. Which I think is what gives the biscuit that biscuity taste.

  3. I haven’t made it yet, but I read that one needs to use 2 tsp. of beef gelatin powder per cup of liquid to thicken, so maybe you just needed more gelatin powder. The Now brand claims that you don’t have to bloom it first. From what I’ve read, you whisk it into liquid. It may be that trying to use it in a rough decreased it’s thickening power, but I don’t know. Your flavor profiles in this recipe are wonderful! Thanks so much.

  4. I know this is almost a year old, but I wonder if you or anyone else have since tried using almond flour in particular as a thickener – whether it negatively impacted the taste/texture and whether it thickened better than the beef gelatin.

    Personally I wouldn’t mind a thinner gravy (loves me some au jus!) so I’d be willing to try this recipe as written, am simply curious to know if you’ve conducted any further experimentation with different ingredients.

  5. I liked how this one turned out so I kept the recipe as is, however I have tried using coconut flour before and it tasted grainy. Feel free to experiment and let me know your results.

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