This jar contains broth/pan drippings I gathered from the last roast chicken I baked. Many people use these drippings for gravy. To do so while they are still hot makes it impossible to remove the fat that you can see gathered at the top of the jar. To save my family’s health, I always use the previous chicken/turkey’s broth and pan drippings in my cooking, enabling me to remove most of the dangerous fat. Refrigeration causes the broth and fat to separate making it very easy to lift the hardened fat away from the broth.

Today, knowing that the Thanksgiving turkey is going to need a lot of gravy, I purchased three turkey legs. Tomorrow I will cook these down in the crockpot with several cups of water. I’ll add celery, onions and garlic for richer flavor, and have a luscious broth to use for a healthy gravy on Thanksgiving Day. I’ll refrigerate the broth after it cooks down, skim off the hardened fat, and freeze the broth for a couple of days. I’ll leave myself a big note on the chalkboard on Wednesday, reminding myself to take it out of the freezer for the big turkey day. It’s good to think ahead when it comes to sauces and gravies and take a few moments to create a healthier alternative to using the fatty and heart clogging drippings straight out of the pan.