You Should Stir Leftover Gravy Into Soups and Stews

By now, all of your turkey gravy has been consumed, frozen, or tossed, but pouring gravy on roasts, potatoes, and roasted potatoes is an all-winter affair in my house. I make gravy before Thanksgiving, on Thanksgiving, and after Thanksgiving, which translates into a freezer full of gravy.

This is not a bad thing, as it means I am always mere moments away from gravy fries, but I always looking for new and exciting ways to use gravy. I make it a point to support and encourage gravy innovation, gravy creativity, gravy brilliance. Just the other day, such innovation arrived in my Twitter DMs when one of my favorite readers sent me the following:

If you make too much gravy, toss a spoonful of that coagulated mess in your homemade soup.

I know a lot of you are going to want to comment that you’ve “never heard of too much gravy,” but please refrain from making that tired joke. Rebrand it as “bonus gravy” if that helps, but try to focus and appreciate the brilliance of the above gravy hack.

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Gravy, as you probably know, is made up of broth and roux, which makes it savory and thick—the perfect addition to a soup or stew that needs a little bit of umami and body. The more coagulated it is out of the fridge, the better it will be in your soup. (That jelly-like consistency indicates the presence of collagen, and collagen is what gives broth, stock, and soup a satisfying mouthfeel.)

This little hack is obviously very easy to execute. Take a big spoonful of leftover or “bonus” gravy, and stir it into a bubbling pot of soup or stew. Taste it, and repeat if needed until it tastes and feels good in your mouth, or until you are out of gravy. Then make more gravy.