While the Thanksgiving turkey is being carved, you’ll find me, whisk in hand, making pan gravy at the stove right from the roasting pan. I never use premade gravy because I think it tastes awful compared to a fresh pan gravy. Besides, pan gravy is a pretty fast & easy process. Flour, cornstarch or arrowroot flour are traditionally added to pan drippings to thicken your gravy, but these have 6 to 7 grams of carbs per tablespoon. A keto-friendly alternative is to use guar gum. Make sure you have your guar gum on hand before your holiday in order to make a low-carb pan gravy.
guar gum
Guar gum is made from the Guar bean which grows in India. It has been extensively tested for safety in animals. Studies have shown that it’s consumption is associated with lowered body weight and blood glucose, all of which is ideal on a ketogenic diet! (1) Guar gum is a soluble fiber so the nutritional label lists 9 grams of carbohydrate per tablespoon, but it is all fiber, so those carbohydrates are essentially unused by the body, making it a natural carb-free thickening agent for gravy.
You’ll use about 1 tsp. or more of guar gum per cup of gravy, depending on how thick you like it.
My best tips for gravy are to not worry about it having little bits of turkey in it or straining it to make perfectly smooth. No one cares, they only want to eat it when it’s hot. Also, I prefer to serve my gravy in a warmed covered bowl set on a plate with a ladle. This way, your gravy stays warm by the time you get to your second helping.
keto Thanksgiving pan gravy
INGREDIENTS
- 1 -3 TBS guar gum
- ½-1 C white wine depends on how much gravy you’re making
- 3-4 cups organic turkey or chicken stock
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/3-1/2 C organic heavy cream optional
INSTRUCTIONS
- Take everything out of the roasting pan that you cooked the turkey in. There should be at least about 1/2 C of rendered fat in the bottom of the roasting pan. If there’s more than that, you can take some out, if not you can add some butter to make up the difference.
- Set your roasting pan across two burners set to medium/medium-high heat. Once the fat drippings are bubbling, add guar gum, a few teaspoons at a time, whisking constantly, until the gravy is thick. (guar gum works best when added to fat first before then thinning it with stock/wine.)
- Add the wine & cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, about 2 minutes.
- Slowly add stock, whisking occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes until gravy is reduced and pan drippings have incorporated. Add a little more guar gum if needed to make it thicker.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Optional: add heavy cream to your taste.
- Serve immediately while hot.
macro comparison between traditional gravy my keto gravy
Ina Garten’s homemade Gravy: 312 calories, 29 g fat, 2 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber
My keto pan gravy: 136 calories, 13 g fat, 0 g protein, 2 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber
