If you haven’t done it before, making a great homemade gravy can seem like a daunting task. But we promise that reliably perfect gravy is well within your grasp. Once you know the steps, it’s totally easy to master, and you’ll never turn to that little envelope of dry mix again.

This method is thickened with a roux (a mixture of flour and butter) so you start by melting butter in a saucepan and then whisking in the flour once it has melted. You let that cook for just a minute or two so the floury taste has a chance to get cooked out before adding your liquid.

You can use turkey drippings or even turkey or chicken stock as the liquid here. Drippings bring a bit more flavor to the party, but it’s still delicious with stock. (You can even use this same method after roasting a chicken. We highly recommend trying it!) You strain the drippings to remove any poultry gunk and spoon the fat from the top of the liquid once it settles. If the drippings don’t amount to 4 cups, just top it off with some stock. You whisk that liquid into the roux and cook it until it thickens, which takes just about 10 minutes.

10 minutes until savory, delicious homemade gravy? Yes, please. From scratch gravy really isn’t too intimidating when you break it down. Any cook can do it, which is really good news… we wouldn’t want any lonely mashed potatoes out there!