Simple and Delicious 5-Ingredient Gravy

 

This recipe is a staple in our household because let’s face it, gravy goes great with so many things from meats to vegetables to starchy/carb-tastic sides (helllllooooo Roasted Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes! 🤤) . And while you can use any drippings of your choice to make it, I personally love the taste and ease of using a bone broth/stock.

Making our gravy is going to require some [bone] broth, stock or dripping. You can use any flavor of your choice from beef, to chicken, to turkey, to vegetable. The choice is yours. Along with your broth you’ll need some whole wheat pastry flour (I prefer to use this since it’s a finer grind than regular whole wheat which can sometimes create a slightly gritty gravy), butter, and seasoning (I’m using black pepper and Italian seasoning). You can also add more salt as needed if you prefer but essentially that’s all we need.

Now, as simple as this gravy is here are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind to ensure that all goes as planned and you end up with the best gravy ever…

• When making your gravy, use 2x more flour than fat.
• Use a low heat when cooking the flour and fat. This is critical to ensure that the flour fully absorbs the fat and that each starch molecule gets coated which will result in a smoother and well flavored gravy plus burning the flour is mitigated. High heat not only burns your roux and flour but makes your sauce gritty.
• Once your flour and fat sort of melt together and appears a little grainy that’s when you know all the fat has been absorbed and your base is perfect for thickening. Now here’s the thing, while the roux base is ready at this point, if you let it cook a little longer and brown (not burn!) a slight bit more you can really coax an amazing toasty flavor out of it that really helps to bump your gravy up to the next level in terms of the depths of flavor.
• Ensure that your liquid (broth) that is going to be added to your roux is either hot or at the very least, warmed.
• Begin whisking the moment you add liquid to the flour and fat or else you run the risk of clumps forming.
• Let your gravy cook a few minutes once the liquid is whisked into the roux and is smooth with no lumps, this allows the gravy to fully thicken and become silky smooth.
• Use enough liquid to make your gravy liquidus and not gelatinous as it will thicken up more when it cools down.

To begin making your gravy melt your butter in a saucepan.

Once the butter is melted, reduce the heat to low and add the flour and mix until no flour can be seen.

Allow your roux to cook for a few minutes until it begins to lightly brown and spread out. Be sure to stir it around to ensure that the bottom isn’t burning or cooking more than the rest.

Once your roux is cooked, stream in one cup of your broth while simultaneously whisking to ensure there are no lumps. Once smooth, allow the gravy to simmer and thicken before whisking in the rest of the broth.

After allowing your gravy to thicken and simmer for a couple minutes add in your seasoning and mix.

Cool slightly, serve and enjoy! It really is that simple. However…

Things sometimes don’t work out and you end up with a gravy that isn’t quite what you were aiming for. Don’t worry though, we’ve all been there and in the event that you encounter an issue here’s some possible fixes for if your gravy is:

Too lumpy:
Causes: The liquid added was too cold or you didn’t whisk and incorporate it quickly enough once you added the liquid to the roux.
Solution: You can either strain out the lumps or blend the warm gravy using a high powered blender or a stick blender until smooth.

Too thick:
Causes: Not enough liquid was added.
Solution: Add a touch more stock or water a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

Too thin:
Causes: Not enough roux to liquid, or too much liquid was added.
Solution: Depending on how thin there are several options. First you can add a small slurry of tapioca flour or arrowroot flour to the gravy and whisk it in to fully incorporate. Another option is to make another roux using fat and flour and slowly stream in the too-thin gravy to the roux in place of the stock. A third option if the thinness isn’t severe, is simply to low simmer the gravy (stirring occasionally) for a few minutes so that it can continue to thicken on its own.

Too salty:
Causes: The broth used was initially too salty, or too much salt was added to the gravy
Solution: Try adding a touch of raw cane sugar to help balance the saltiness or you can try adding in a few slices of an apple and allowing it to sit for 5-6 minutes before removing the apple from the gravy. This works because apple’s starchiness aids in absorbing the salt without imparting any fruity flavor.

There you have it, you are now armed with all the info you need to go into your kitchen and create the best and most delicious gravy ever. From our sunshiny kitchen to yours, we hope you enjoy this recipe!