A holiday feast is just not complete without the crowning touch of great gravy. Much like the icing on a cake, a good gravy made from the pan drippings of your turkey, or any other choice of protein, can evoke poignant memories for many. A finely crafted sauce, thickened with flour or cornstarch, encapsulates the essence of a home-cooked meal.

Nicole Pederson-Bates, director of culinary operations at Minneapolis-based Food Gallery Catering, reminisces about her familial culinary skills. “My turkey gravy is still made in the same way my grandma and my mom did," she shares. "It always begins with a stock made from the turkey’s necks, gizzards, livers, and invariably includes onion and bay leaf. As the turkey roasts in the oven, this flavorful stock just simmers away on the stove.”

The key hurdle to achieving that much sought after, grandma-quality gravy? The dreaded lumps. Lumps form when your starch cooks before blending into the stock. Here's a professional’s guide to fend off those gravy lumps and rescue a lumpy gravy.

Your first shield against lumpy gravy is utilizing a whisk in place of a spoon. This allows you to reach the furthest corners of your pan. Although a balloon whisk should do the job, consider a flat whisk to scrape the pan better. And whether you're using a roux or a slurry to thicken your gravy, remember to whisk non-stop to avoid lump formation.

Though many cooks prefer an already cooked roux for their gravy - a dense paste formed by combining heated flour and fat before adding your stock - there is a simpler way to ride out the lump situation. Pederson suggests thickening your gravy with a slurry. This involves introducing a mix of raw flour-and-water or cornstarch-and-water into your simmering stock.

To make your slurry, whisk together flour (or cornstarch) and water, maintaining a ratio of one tablespoon flour/cornstarch to two tablespoons water in a small bowl. Then, gradually introduce this slurry into the simmering stock while stirring constantly as it resumes boiling. It is crucial not to dump the entire mixture in all at once, but to incorporate it gradually.

However, the delicate flavor of a roux often makes it the cooks' favorite. For a gravy with a deeper flavor and smooth texture, consider thickening it with a beurre manié, a product of kneading equal amounts of softened butter and flour. This mixture should be whisked into the gravy until the sauce simmers and thickens into a rich, silk-like consistency.

But what if, despite your diligent whisking, simmering, and seasoning, your gravy contains lumps? A dependable solution for lumpy gravy is a tested strainer. Pour the gravy through a fine mesh strainer, pushing the solids down with a spatula, into a clean pan set aside for reheating.

Pederson-Bates resorts to using a technology tool. “I personally use my handy stick blender,” she reveals. An immersion blender can be magic for smoothing sauces directly in the hot pan. Alternatively, one can transfer the gravy to a blender or food processor for a quick lump removal, before reheating it in a clean pan.

She also recommends enhancing your gravy's flavor with extra additions like fresh herbs or cooked mushrooms towards the end of cooking. This way, they don't interrupt the smoothing process. Finally, she offers one pro tip: “Add a dash of butter and a sprinkle of sherry vinegar to your smooth, lump-free gravy for a touch of zing. Then season and serve in a visually appealing gravy boat."