My wife wants to know how you make the perfect gravy?!
My wife wants to know how you make the perfect gravy?
Answers:
Gravy Tips and Hints
Lumpy gravy and over-salted gravy can be fixed
Perfect Gravy Tips and Hints
With a few tricks, you can turn out the best gravy ever. Below you will find tips and hints for making gravy and fixing it when things go wrong.
? Lumpy gravy: Pour into blender and give it a whir for no more than thirty to sixty seconds. Do not overblend. Pour back into pot and reheat.
? Instant mashed potato flakes will work as a thickener for gravy and produces no lumps. You may need extra salt.
? Too salty: Try adding a pinch or brown sugar or a 1/4 teaspoon vinegar.
? Use flours that are low in protein and high in starch, such as cake flour, pastry flour or all-purpose flour. This will help prevent any "skin" from forming on gravy as it sits.
? When deglazing the pan, be sure to scrape up those bits clinging to the bottom of the pan. They increase the flavor of the gravy
? Constarch has twice the thickening power of flour.
? Arrowroot has slightly more than twice the thickening power of flour.
? Avoid making gravy in an aluminum (anodized is okay) pan as it can turn the gravy gray.
? Liquid gravy browner can be added to gravy to improve color.
? When adding liquid to the roux, add it slowly and whisk constantly to avoid lumping.
? Whisking in a tablespoon of butter of heavy cream just before serving will give gravy a rich, satiny texture.
? Adding a teaspoon of instant coffee granules or cocoa per two cups gravy enriches the flavor as well as adds color.
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Gravy Types
What kind of gravy do you need?
Gravy (not to be confused with Italian tomato sauce gravy) is generally defined as a sauce made from meat juices, often combined with broth or milk, and thickened with a starch. It can also be the reduced juices left from cooking proteins such as meat, fish or poultry. Although it is fairly simple to make, many home cooks have a difficult time making flavorful, smooth gravy.
Understanding the process and learning a few tricks of the trade should help you make perfect gravy every time. First, you'll need to determine what type of gravy you want for your dish.
For a lighter touch, stick with a simple pan gravy. If you're looking for a heartier gravy to top a starch such as mashed potatoes, rice or pasta, you'll probably opt for a thickened gravy.
Simple Pan Gravy or Reduction Sauce
Most pan gravies are a simple reduction of the juices left in the pan after the food is cooked. Often a bit of wine or broth is added to the pan drippings, scraping up the cooked pieces from the bottom of the pan, then allowed to cook down and thicken on its own. A dab of butter is often added at the end to give added flavor and a glossy finish. This is the easiest gravy to make and virtually can't go wrong. However, often a more hearty gravy is desired, one that is thicker in texture and creamy in color.
Thickened Gravy
There are several popular thickeners for gravy including flour, cornstarch, arrowroot, and dairy products. The methods differ for different thickeners, but they all basically begin with the simple pan gravy described above. It's difficult to give an exact recipe, since it will depend on the amount of seasoning on the meat and its fat content. However, the measurements don't have to be extremely precise as in baking. You should be able to judge by eye.
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Old-Fashioned Turkey Gravy
INGREDIENTS:
Turkey giblets
Turkey neck
1 onion, cut in half
1 carrot, chunked
7 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup turkey fat, including drippings
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Salt to taste (1-2 teaspoons)
PREPARATION:
When you remove the giblets and neck from the turkey, place in heavy saucepan and add onion and carrot. Add water and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low heat, covered, while the turkey cooks. You may need to add more water as it evaporates - add just 1/2 cup at a time.
Remove stock from heat and strain; discard giblets, neck, and vegetables.
Skim fat from the turkey drippings remaining in the roasting pan after the turkey is cooked, leaving 1/3 cup of fat and all the drippings. Scrape into a heavy saucepan; do not wash roasting pan. Over medium heat, combine fat, drippings, and flour; cook and stir until mixture bubbles for about 4-5 minutes. Add a cup of the strained broth; cook and stir until mixed. Then use some of the broth to rinse out the roasting pan, scraping off any remaining drippings; add to gravy. Add 3 cups broth to gravy, stirring with wire whisk. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer, stirring frequently, until gravy thickens. Then add salt, tasting as you go, until the gravy suddenly tastes rich and meaty.
Pisto
Deglaze the pan juices with some red wine. Stir in cornflour (no lumps). Make up the liquid with stock water from your steaming vegetables. Season to taste or sprinkle in some bouillon powder. Bring to simmer, serve when slightly thickened. For glossy finish, add knob of butter just before serving.
Everyone loves my gravy. One rounded teaspoon Bisto gravy powder, 4 fl oz of dry sherry, 2 fl oz water, simmer for a couple of minutes. Pour only a few drops of sherry in at first and mix to a paste to avoid it going lumpy, then add rest of sherry and water
which gravy does she wants to make??? normal chips & gravy ?? that gravy or Gravy for curru sauce... give some details i can send you recipes
If you tell me how your wife makes gravy, I will tell her what she is doing wrong!
Take the drippings from the meat (assuming it's a meat entree you're creating). Put them in a large sauce or frying pan with a few tablespoons of corn starch sprinkled in as you stir the mixture. Cook it on medium-high heat as you stir every 20 seconds or so. As the mixture begins to boil, turn down as needed and stir frequently to keep from burning. The mixture will thicken... take off the burner and serve when it is a near-gravy thickness.
Wish I could help, but every time I've tried to make 'homemade' gravy, it's turned out to be a dismal failure. I've finally decided that there's no sense worrying about it, and I buy the packaged gravy....add a cup of water, stir til it comes almost to a boil and gets thick, and put it in a gravy-boat. Works every time. :-)
1 C water cold
1 -? Tbl corn starch or 2 of flour
mix,, add to your ?? pan,, boil,,
you want fancy add some herbs, salt,, pepper,, onions,,
browning sauce,, like soy or carmel etc.
if your gran is still here she is the best one to ask my old gran made the best. no bisto granuals then. .
Contrary to what Martha Stewart may teach, you shouldn't have to strain your gravy to get the lumps out. The way you make lump-free gravy is to put the cornstarch in a container with a tight-fitting lit and add some hot broth or water, then shake it well until all the of the cornstarch is dissolved and there aren't any lumps (add enough broth so that it's fairly thin). Slowly add this to the rest of your broth and stir constantly (with a whiskl!) on medium heat until the gravy is thickened.
Another good tip is to use browning sauce (one brand name is "Kitchen Bouquet"). This gives it color and flavor. Make sure you have plenty of broth, though, because not enough will make the gravy taste bland or watery. Add plenty of black pepper to taste for the finish.
I add a tablespoon of Penzey's beef base to packaged gravy mix. It is a suitable substitute for homemade.
use the juices from your meat put on the hob you can leave in the roasting tin wait until the juice begins to bubble and some plain flour and keep stirring until you get a paste with no lumps if you are boiling spuds use your potato water but it has to be boiling pour in until you have the right consistency for your gravy add pepper no salt as you have that from your potato water and use a little gravy browning (perfect gravy in minutes)
Like Claire T, I also use PLAIN flour rather than cornflour. Remove meat from roasting tin and skim off most of the fat from the surface of the juices. Heat the base of the roasting tin and when juices bubbling stir in a tablespoon of plain flour, stirring it into the juices and sediment to make a thick paste. Add hot stock (be it from boiled veg or stock prepared from giblets/bones) gradually, stiring the whole time to make sure no lumps form, to the desired consistency. Pour the gravy into a small saucepan and keep warm over low heat until ready to serve. Alternatively, like I sometimes do, you can pour it into a jug and heat it for a minute in the microwave.
use the juices from your meat and the water from your veg, and a little cornflour. drain off all the fat from so all your left with is the sediment you can add a little plain flour to make a roux or just add the veg water and mixed corn flour make it as thick as you like it add seasoning and if the colour is not suitable for you add a little gravy browning.