How to: Gravy from Pot Roast?

[dc2123]

So I want to know if there is a way to use all the excess liquid from the pot roast I made and if so, then how to do so.

I made pot roast with a 3lb chuck, mirepoix, potatoes, and 2 cups of beef broth.

There was a lot of liquid leftover and it was soupy. I was wondering how I could utilize that and make a thicker sauce/gravy

 

[Andy M.]

So I want to know if there is a way to use all the excess liquid from the pot roast I made and if so, then how to do so.

I made pot roast with a 3lb chuck, mirepoix, potatoes, and 2 cups of beef broth.

There was a lot of liquid leftover and it was soupy. I was wondering how I could utilize that and make a thicker sauce/gravy

Thicken it with flour and you have gravy. If you want, take out the meat and veggies then boil the liquid to reduce its volume and concentrate its flavors. Then thicken it with flour.

 

[dc2123]

Thicken it with flour and you have gravy. If you want, take out the meat and veggies then boil the liquid to reduce its volume and concentrate its flavors. Then thicken it with flour.

so use a chinois? then reduce it for how long? is the reducing process just bringing out flavor and minimizing the amount of total starting liquid?

and do I add the flour to the liquid, or flour in a seperate pan then add the liquid?

 

[Whiskadoodle]

Remove the roast / veggies to a a platter and tent with foil.


I don't think you need chinois. You need to use a whisk or a wooden spoon.

I think if you simply reduce the drippings you will achieve a flavorful concentrated and possibly a thinner style pan sauce. Very tasty but may not provide the volume you may want.

If you want gravy, estimate how much you want -- 1 C, 2 cups - 4 cups if it's a big roast or you are serving many people etc.

Eyeball about how much of the drippings is fat vs cooking liquids and meat juices. I'm not very accurate about doing this, and to pour all the liquid into a container and cool it, takes too long. Sooooo...

what I do, if I want a moderately thick gravy is put 2 or so Tbs flour in a pint jar, add about a half cup water to it and shake it covered until it is mixed. Then pour this slowly into the pan while stirring continuously until the slurry is dissolver and there are no lumps. Boil and stir one to two minutes to cook away the flour-y flavor. Simmer another 2-5 minutes or so. Taste for salt/pepper. Add more liquid if it got too thick or simmer to reduce if it's too thin.

You can add a blurp of wine or broth when making gravy if there was not enough liquid in the pan to start with. Just stir up the brown bits in the pan and go from there.

 

[RPCookin]

Remove the roast / veggies to a a platter and tent with foil.


I don't think you need chinois. You need to use a whisk or a wooden spoon.

I think if you simply reduce the drippings you will achieve a flavorful concentrated and possibly a thinner style pan sauce. Very tasty but may not provide the volume you may want.

If you want gravy, estimate how much you want -- 1 C, 2 cups - 4 cups if it's a big roast or you are serving many people etc.

Eyeball about how much of the drippings is fat vs cooking liquids and meat juices. I'm not very accurate about doing this, and to pour all the liquid into a container and cool it, takes too long. Sooooo...

what I do, if I want a moderately thick gravy is put 2 or so Tbs flour in a pint jar, add about a half cup water to it and shake it covered until it is mixed. Then pour this slowly into the pan while stirring continuously until the slurry is dissolver and there are no lumps. Boil and stir one to two minutes to cook away the flour-y flavor. Simmer another 2-5 minutes or so. Taste for salt/pepper. Add more liquid if it got too thick or simmer to reduce if it's too thin.

You can add a blurp of wine or broth when making gravy if there was not enough liquid in the pan to start with. Just stir up the brown bits in the pan and go from there.

This is the way my mom taught me to do it. Just be sure that you shake up the flour and water slurry very well, and whisk vigorously while pouring it into the broth to avoid any lumps.

 

[GotGarlic]

If the vegetables were cooked with the roast the entire time, they've pretty much given up their flavor, imo. Now you can use them, minus the potatoes, to make the gravy. Just remove the roast and potatoes from the pan, place the liquid and remaining vegetables in the blender, and purée it. Taste and adjust seasonings and consistency, if necessary, by finishing up in a saucepan.

 

[CraigC]

You could add some beurre manie to thicken your reduced sauce. It will also add extra richness from the butter.

 

[Andy M.]

If the vegetables were cooked with the roast the entire time, they've pretty much given up their flavor, imo...

When I make a pot roast, after about 2.5-3.0 hours, I remove the meat and strain the liquid that contains mirepoix veggies, tomato etc. I press the liquid through a strainer and discard the solids.

The strained liquid goes back into the pot with the meat to finish cooking. When the timing is right, I add the carrots, onions, mushrooms peas, etc. that will be served with the meat. No potatoes. I make mashed potatoes separately to go with the rest.

I then thicken the liquid with a little flour and we're ready to go.

 

[RPCookin]

If the vegetables were cooked with the roast the entire time, they've pretty much given up their flavor, imo. Now you can use them, minus the potatoes, to make the gravy. Just remove the roast and potatoes from the pan, place the liquid and remaining vegetables in the blender, and purée it. Taste and adjust seasonings and consistency, if necessary, by finishing up in a saucepan.

This works, although I'm not a big fan of it for gravy, because it makes the sauce texture a little bit more coarse (no matter how well it's pureed, there are still fine particles of vegetable matter - at least that has been my experience with it). I like smooth gravy when that's what I'm making, and thickening with flour works for me. Just personal preference. The beurre manie that Craig suggests also sounds quite yummy.

Of course if there is a dietary reason for avoiding flour, then that makes a difference.

 

[GotGarlic]

Of course, both work, and I used flour as well. Depends on what I'm making and what I feel like doing. I just thought I'd put another suggestion out there

 

[RPCookin]

I'm making beef stew for dinner tomorrow, so this is a timely thread. I'll be using about the same technique to thicken the gravy after the stewing is done.

 

[CWS4322]

If the vegetables were cooked with the roast the entire time, they've pretty much given up their flavor, imo. Now you can use them, minus the potatoes, to make the gravy. Just remove the roast and potatoes from the pan, place the liquid and remaining vegetables in the blender, and purée it. Taste and adjust seasonings and consistency, if necessary, by finishing up in a saucepan.

That's how I make gravy to go with Yankee pot roast. That's how my grandma did it (although, she didn't have a blender...I think she used her food mill).

 

[Kayelle]

If you want an easy/lazy gravy, just mix in some instant potato flakes into the meat juices. This works well with a crock pot mix when you can't bring it up to the boil.

 

[puffin3]

I'll add my two cents.
Pour off the juices into a large pan. Remove any fat by using paper towel/s. Just gently lay a PT onto the liquid and the fat molecules will adhere to the PT. You may have to do this trick a few times.
I make the classic 'Escoffier' roux using 6 parts flour and 5 parts unsalted clarified butter. Before I make this roux I dextrinize the flour by slowly heating it. If I'm making a beef gravy I'll let the flour very slightly brown. Then I cool the roux in the fridge.
I'll reduce a cup or so of decent red wine to half then add this to the pan juices. I'll add some beef stock to increase the volume depending on the amount of finished gravy I want.
Bring the liquid to a hard boil in a separate pot. Put cold roux into a large pot and immediately pour half the boiling liquid in stirring constantly. If you need more liquid it's at hand. If you just dribble in the hot liquid you'll face having to try to thin out wallpaper paste. By adding a lot of liquid at once you avoid this issue.
Now slowly adjust the consistency of the gravy by reducing or adding more liquid. Because you have already dextrinized the flour you will end up with a soft silky velvety gravy. Lap with a bit of cold butter just before serving the very hot gravy.

 

[Addie]

Good Grief! That is a lot of work.

Put some flour in a jar, shake the heck out of it making sure there are no lumps and slowly add to the pan broth. You can add a couple of drops of Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet if you are looking for a deeper rich color. Once you have reached your desired thickness, you can then add any wine or other flavor enhancer. You may not have to use all of your flour and water mixture. Keep it to the side in case your additives thin your gravy too much. Just keep in mind, as your gravy cools, it will get thicker.

 

[puffin3]

Good Grief! That is a lot of work.

Put some flour in a jar, shake the heck out of it making sure there are no lumps and slowly add to the pan broth. You can add a couple of drops of Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet if you are looking for a deeper rich color. Once you have reached your desired thickness, you can then add any wine or other flavor enhancer. You may not have to use all of your flour and water mixture. Keep it to the side in case your additives thin your gravy too much. Just keep in mind, as your gravy cools, it will get thicker.

I don't consider how I make gravy "a lot of work".
I'm a 'Escoffierphile'. Making classic French food based on the Masters of French cuisine is one of my hobbies.
The irony is making classic French cuisine is pretty easy. All it takes is a commitment to following the recipes precisely.
I will say my finished dishes never go to waste. LOL

 

[Roll_Bones]

I also use a roux. I never add raw flour and water to any hot broth or soup.
Shake it up all you like, you still get lumps. I think.

It sure sounds easy and something i may try again. But I always got lumps unless i made a roux.

 

[RPCookin]

I also use a roux. I never add raw flour and water to any hot broth or soup.
Shake it up all you like, you still get lumps. I think.

It sure sounds easy and something i may try again. But I always got lumps unless i made a roux.

I never have lumps in my gravy, and I do it like Addie described, just as I learned from my mother.

The other way that I make gravy from my mother's methods is to take the pan that a roast was cooked in and put it on heat on top of the stove. Boil all or at least most of the water out of the juices reducing the flavor into the remaining fat. If there is too much fat, spoon off until you have no more than 2 or 3 tablespoons left. If there is not enough fat, melt some butter into the pan to reach about 3-4 tablespoons, depending on how much gravy you need. Then stir in an amount of flour about equal to the remaining fat to make a roux. Once that is well mixed and cooking, then you can add whatever stock or broth or milk or water to it to make your gravy. The roux should add enough flavor to even make it work with water as long as you don't thin it out too much. If you happen to add too much liquid, then the flour and water slurry in a shaker (or at this point, even a little cornstarch slurry) will do the trick to thicken it up some. Don't forget to season it with salt and pepper.

 

[Roll_Bones]

I never have lumps in my gravy, and I do it like Addie described, just as I learned from my mother.

I learned a few things from my mother too. Then I learned her way was not always the right way.
Sorry, I have been taught to not do this. That a roux or reduction is the right way to thicken. I was taught to never use flour and water.
I will try the flour and water shake up method, but if I end up with lumps, I know who to blame.....

 

[Addie]

I don't consider how I make gravy "a lot of work".
I'm a 'Escoffierphile'. Making classic French food based on the Masters of French cuisine is one of my hobbies.
The irony is making classic French cuisine is pretty easy. All it takes is a commitment to following the recipes precisely.
I will say my finished dishes never go to waste. LOL

When you have a houseful of kids clammering to eat, you use the method that is the fast way to get it on the table. And I am not talking canned convenience foods. I have always cooked from scratch and will continue to do so. Sure I have the time now to go slow, but I am the one who is clammering to eat. now