Gordon Ramsay Uses Fresh Tomatoes To Thicken Turkey Gravy (Here's Why It Works)

For many cooks, turkey gravy can't be made without first making a roux. The thickening agent is what gives gravy the perfect consistency to coat all that extra flavor onto the meat. It might come as a surprise, then, to learn that Gordon Ramsay doesn't even mention roux when making his own turkey gravy; instead, he uses fresh tomatoes to both thicken the gravy and add another dimension of flavor.

At first, it might seem a little counterintuitive to use tomatoes to thicken gravy, considering they're 95% water; all that juice should theoretically make the gravy runnier. Tomatoes, however, also naturally contain a polysaccharide known as pectin. Polysaccharides like pectin are soluble fibers that absorb and trap liquids when cooked, creating a gelatinous mesh network. As the gravy cooks, the pectin from the tomatoes thickens the liquid while any excess water evaporates, resulting in a thick, rich sauce.

Pectin is the very same reason fruit jams get their texture. The pectin found in fruits similarly gelatinizes the water and juices that go into a jam. The concentration of pectin is just higher in a jam than what Ramsay uses for his gravy, which is why a fruit jam sets while the gravy remains a thick liquid. Had he added a lot more tomatoes and cooked them for longer, he theoretically could have made something like a gravy jam because of all that added pectin. And if that sounds delicious to you, you may want to try using any leftover turkey gravy to make a flavor-packed gravy mayo, too.

Thickening a sauce isn't just a simple matter of just adding tomatoes to your gravy; there are specific conditions that need to happen for the pectin to gelatinize. The first thing you want to do is "hot break" your tomatoes, which involves cooking them at temperatures above 194 degrees Fahrenheit. This essentially deactivates any enzymes in the tomato that might break down the pectin before it gets a chance to thicken your sauce. You could also try doing a "cold break" at around 140 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit, but it won't gelatinize as effectively.

Pectin also requires a particular balance of acid and sugar to thicken a gravy. Pectin molecules have negative charges that repel each other, but an acidic environment measuring around 2.8 to 3.5 on the pH scale neutralizes those charges, allowing the pectin to form its moisture-absorbing mesh. Some dry apple ciders' pH falls just within that range, which is why Gordon Ramsay also adds it to his tomato-thickened turkey gravy. The sugar then helps absorb more moisture into that mesh while also tempering the sourness of the vinegar.

If fresh tomatoes aren't available, canned tomatoes work well, too. Ina Garten uses canned tomatoes to thicken her pot roast sauce; specifically, the kind that comes in puree. According to her, the puree helps thicken the sauce even more. You can also do what Bobby Flay does to thicken his no-roux gravy and use tomato paste. Whichever form of tomato you end up using for your turkey gravy, just make sure that you have the right mix of heat, acid, and sugar to let the pectin do its work.