Whether you’re starting from scratch or relying on boxed broth and canned cream of mushroom soup, Thanksgiving gravy (or filling, depending on how you say it) is a blank slate full of flavor opportunities. Often extra elements, additions, and sometimes surprising ingredients or techniques make a simple dish look like this: dressing come forward.

We talked to the chefs Gabe Barker Pizzeria Mercato in Carrboro, North Carolina and Nick Wallace I explained how they prepare their Thanksgiving attire in Jackson, Mississippi, and learned a few tips. Spoiler: They both learned a lot from their mother and grandmother. (Us too!)

Nick Wallace said it best: “I want people to remember my food in great ways, and I want people to come back to me whenever they want.” You’ll have people coming back for seconds and thirds every time with these chef-approved (yet homegrown) tips and tricks for a memorable Thanksgiving meal.

cornbread

“If I’m the one making the stuffing, then it’s a cornbread-based stuffing. I’ve used my grandmother’s cornbread recipe both personally and professionally,” says Barker, who uses the same recipe in a variety of dishes. From croutons to panzanella, he makes the restaurant to fill it up. He says it’s perfect with 100 percent cornmeal and plenty of eggs. “It’s really custardy and eggy. It has the ability to retain moisture (in the dressing).”

Nick Wallace also grew up on cornbread dip. “Always cornbread dip,” he said. “Mom has the best,” she said, and after she detailed her classic recipe from her catering kitchen in Jackson, Mississippi, where she runs a catering business as well as the Nissan Cafe restaurant, I believed her.

Homemade Stock

“Flavor is something you can remember,” Wallace said, recalling how his mother always started from scratch with day-old bread, a creamy base fortified with homemade bone broth to fill it up, and plenty of aromatics.

“You have to go through the entire process of cooking the chicken, removing the bone, and removing the bone and celery to create a flavorful broth,” he insists.

As for Barker, “As a professional cook, I freeze chicken broth in batches in my freezer, so I (always) use it as a moistening agent.”

Sausage

“I let the cornbread and sausage be the star of the show,” Barker says. “I use Neese’s hot sausage. That’s what consistent, end-of-day cooking is all about. The quality of the animal is good, which makes a big difference.”

Roasted Black Pepper

Nick Wallace roasts fresh black peppercorns before grinding them into ground black pepper.

“Anything I add black pepper to, I want it to be pronounced,” he says. “I buy coarse black peppercorns and roast them in the oven.” It’s that simple. The result is a little more aromatic, a little smokier, and a little stronger peppery.

Sage

“My mom is a really good cook,” says Wallace, who follows in her mother’s footsteps and uses sage, which shares black pepper’s slightly piney flavor. “But I’m probably heavier because of the spices,” Wallace admits. “I use fresh sage, he uses dried sage.” The root of the flavor combination and concept is still there, and he says he owes it to it.

Chopped Egg

This is true! Chopped or finely chopped egg in the sauce is the finishing touch; This is a technique Wallace learned from his mother.

“The dressing should have a creamy base and a (separate) sauce that has a creamy element with chopped egg in it,” Wallace said. “It’s almost like your mashed potatoes and gravy.”

This technique is reminiscent of gribiche sauce, a sauce in French cuisine that emulsifies hard-boiled egg yolks with oil, mustard and herbs, creating a tangy, velvety sauce. Adding it to the sauce creates a meaty, velvety, thick texture that dips and drips beautifully into the Thanksgiving stuffing.