6 Easy Perfect Gravy Recipes

Gravy 101: Tips, tricks, and all your pressing gravy questions, answered, and 5 gravies you can make that are a little bit different than the usual.

I am a huge gravy fan. Make it rain gravy! I like my food saucy, not dry. A little pot of glistening, glossy gravy should be on the side of every meal. It’s such a integral part to a good meal, especially a good holiday feast. Don’t settle for bad, lumpy, flavorless gravy.

I never realized gravy was such a contentious food item until one year, while we were over at a friend’s place, someone drunkenly took over the gravy making. It ended up lumpy and lifeless and Thanksgiving dinner, while far from being ruined, went from spectacular to very mid. The host had graciously let the guest make the gravy but I could see the pain in his eyes.

Gravy is the soul to a good holiday meal. Give your holiday meal a good soul. Make the best gravy you can make.

What is gravy?

At its simplest, gravy is a sauce. A super simple sauce made from three things: fat, flour, and liquid. It’s easy to make but far too often people turn to those little powdered packs because they’re scared of lumps. Don’t fear lumps friends. If your gravy ends up a bit lumpy, you can just strain it with a fine mesh strainer! Don’t let lumps stop you.

Gravy ratio

This is my personal golden ratio. Not too thin, not too thick, the goldilocks zone is always the best.

• The golden ratio: 1:1:12
  1 tbsp fat to 1 tbsp flour to 3/4 cup (12 tbsp) liquid.
• If you like it thinner, go for: 1:1:16
  1 tbsp fat to 1 tbsp flour to 1 cup (16 tbsp) liquid
• If you love it thicker, go for: 2:2:16
  2 tbsp fat to 2 tbsp flour to 1 cup (16 tbsp) liquid

How to make gravy

1. 1. Heat up the fat over low heat in a pan.
   2. Sprinkle on the flour and whisk in to make a roux.
   3. Cook the roux until light brown while whisking or stirring. The roux will look like a sandy paste.
   4. Slowly stream in stock or drippings while whisking constantly. Whisking constantly during this step eliminates lumps!
   5. Bring the heat up to medium-high and cook, until the gravy starts to thicken, whisking occasionally.
   6. Taste and season with salt and pepper!

What kind of fat?

You can use the fat that comes off your meat when you cook it or you can use butter. Really, any kind of fat works: bacon fat, sausage fat, fat from roasts, any fat goes.

What are drippings?

Drippings are the liquid at the bottom of your roasting dish when you make a roast. They’re a mix of fat and meat juices and have a huge amount of rich flavors. To separate the fat from the stock, carefully strain and transfer your drippings to a liquid measuring cup. The lighter stuff floating on top is fat and the darker stuff underneath is stock or meat juices.

What if my roast doesn’t have any drippings?

Sometimes you roast a piece of meat and there are no drippings. Maybe your roast was lean or on the small side. Help out your future self by adding a tiny amount of no-sodium stock to your pan while you roast, about 1/4 inch or so. The resulting drippings will be supplemented by the fat and meat juices from your roast. If you need to top up your drippings, just pour the drippings into a liquid measuring cup, scoop off the fat, then top it up with no sodium broth or bouillon.

What is a roux

A roux is a mix of butter and flour cooked together into a paste that can thicken liquids. There’s a bunch of science behind why it works but all you need to know is: roux is flour and fat.

The secret ingredient to the best gravy

You can get a great boost of color and umami thanks to one of my favorite ingredients ever: soy sauce! Soy sauce will make your gravy naturally deliciously golden brown and add just a hint of umami in the background. Just add 1-3 teaspoons at the end when you’re seasoning, depending on how much color and saltiness you want.

What if I don’t want to use flour?

Cornstarch gravy

If you’re gluten free or just avoid flour in general, you’re probably wondering, can I avoid flour? The answer is yes, you can make cornstarch gravy using the slurry method. Cornstarch is glossy and shiny without the opaqueness that you get from flour. It’s a bit lighter on the palette and silky smooth. Some people swear by it, some people think it’s a travesty. I think cornstarch is great! It’s never ever lumpy so if you’re a novice gravy maker, cornstarch is for you:

1. Make a slurry: whisk together 1 tbsp cornstarch with 1 tbsp water until smooth.
2. Bring 3/4 cup of drippings (you can leave some fat in there for flavor) up to a simmer in a pot over medium heat.
3. Whisk the slurry into the drippings and let come to a simmer.
4. Taste and season.

Variations

Classic is best, but if you want a couple of fun flavors, these are here for you!

Sausage Gravy

Remove one sausage from its casing and cook in a heavy bottomed skillet, breaking into pieces, until brown and cooked through. Whisk in the flour and cook lightly. Slowly stream in 3/4 cup milk while whisking. Let simmer and thicken. Season generously with freshly ground pepper.

Herbed Gravy

Finely chop some fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary and stir in at the end, when you’re seasoning.

Mushroom Gravy

Cook sliced mushrooms in the butter. Add an extra tablespoon of butter and whisk in the flour and cook lightly. Slowly stream in the stock while whisking. Let simmer and thicken.

Red wine and shallot gravy

Melt the butter, then add the shallots and cook until soft. Whisk in the flour and cook lightly. Slowly stream in a mix of 3/4 cup stock and 1/4 cup wine while whisking. Let simmer and thicken.

Sage brown butter gravy

Melt the butter and add the sage leaves. Let the butter brown over low heat. When nutty and aromatic, whisk in the flour and cook lightly. Slowly stream in the stock while whisking. Let simmer and thicken.

What to serve alongside

If you really love gravy