Why Your Turkey Meat Sauce Never Tastes As Good As The Beef Version

Turkey is a lean and versatile protein, especially for people who do not eat pork or beef, but that low fat content means that it can easily come out a little bland without the proper love and care. This is also true of foods where turkey just provides a base; a turkey meat sauce can be smooth and complex, yet still lacking the richness and depth of flavor that comes from a beef meat sauce. Though this sacrifices some of the benefits of its leanness, the best way to improve a turkey meat sauce is to add fat.

A great example is bacon grease country gravy , which is enhanced by the fat from the bacon. The same is true of any turkey gravy. For non-meat fats, an extra-creamy butter is your best bet.



And for a restaurant flair to your sauce, don't be too shy about adding more, either. For a vegan alternative, vegetable shortening is a traditional lard replacement in many recipes and should impart extra flavor. Refined coconut oil is another option that's high in fat but won't include any coconut flavor that would give your turkey meat sauce an odd island twist.

To improve turkey meat sauce, avoid other meats: butter is best Turkey is a lean meat, but fat means flavor. Butter is a culinary cornerstone because of the decadent creaminess it can impart to many foods, notably including sauces. It offers a rich flavor that is difficult to get outside meat fats.

Adding a different meat fat would also punch up a turkey meat sauce. However, some popular options, like bacon grease, would overwhelm the turkey flavor. More importantly, a second meat fat would mean that it's no longer a turkey dish and might now conflict with dietary restrictions against other meats like pork or beef.

(Yes, even one tablespoon of lard makes it a turkey and pork sauce.) There is one meat fat that would improve a turkey meat sauce without changing the dish into something else: turkey fat. Rendered turkey fat is not the most common grocery store item, but if available, it is an option for improving the flavor of a turkey meat sauce.

Add it just as you would any other cooking fat, either on its own or in combination with a bit of butter, for that velvety creaminess..