basic gravy made with flour and butter

[legend_018]

ok, I did some experiments this morning. I'm always told, my gravy isn't thick. I follow the advise of my brother. I'd like to keep doing it this way, because it's easy. Let's say I'm not making any roasts and just want to make some gravy for some side mashed potatoes or stuffing. This is what I do:

1. Melt butter in pan.
2. Add Flour
3. Mix
4. Let settle
5. Add broth "note***say swanson can of broth
6. Let simmer about 5-10 minutes

MY EXPERIMENT.

Started with 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 can of broth. Too thin

Than did 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoons of flour and 1 can of broth. Still too thin

Than I did 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 can of broth. Came out pretty good. COULD be thicker though. Especially for DH who likes it thick. but, it was decent.

Maybe tomorrow I'll try 2 1/2 tablespoons of butter, 2 1/2 tablespoons of lour and 1 can of broth. 1 can is about 2 cups by the way.

I'm using a lot of cans for my experiment. HA HA.

 

[Katie H]

Legend, one of the keys to thicken a sauce, gravy, etc. is to bring it up to a boil and let it boil for about a minute as you stir/whisk. The full thickening capability isn't reached until you do this.

You an continue to experiement with quantities but you'll get better results if you do as I suggest. Letting things "settle" and simmering isn't buying anything.

When I was a young wife, many moons ago, I thought the solution to thick gravy/sauces was to keep adding flour. Pew! All that did was to make the mess all starchy-tasting. It took me a while before I learned about the "boil" factor.

 

[Andy M.]

2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons of both flour and butter is a good amount. Melt the butter then stir in the flour and cook it for a few minutes. Whisk in the broth and season with garlic and onion powders, salt and pepper.

 

[kitchenelf]

Yep, Katie has it.

Another way to do this is melt your butter. Once melted add an equal part of flour. Stir for 3 minutes to get red of the flour taste. Be sure this is on low as you don't want it to take on color (you are basically making a blond roux here). After the three minutes continuously whisk while slowly adding in your liquid - keeping the clumps at bay. Don't dump the whole can in right away.

You might notice that it comes to the right thickness BEFORE you finish the can. If it does then stop! Check for salt and pepper.

Same thing for a sausage gravy for biscuits. You would cook your sausage and remove, leaving the oil in the pan. Add enough flour to soak up the oil stirring for 3 minutes to get rid of the flour taste. Once done start adding milk slowly, whisking continuously. When you get to the desired thickness add your sausage back in and heat through. If it's too thick add more milk - a little at a time - maybe 1/4 cup or so. If it's too thin just reduce some.

I just used that as an example because it is so different than a chicken gravy but the method is virtually the same.

In your chicken broth gravy you might gain a bit more flavor if you use some chicken base or add a few chicken granules to your broth. Just be careful and don't add too much or it will be waaay over salted.

 

[legend_018]

Legend, one of the keys to thicken a sauce, gravy, etc. is to bring it up to a boil and let it boil for about a minute as you stir/whisk

Katie: Your talking about after the broth has been added. Say the 1 can of broth. Than bring it to a boil and than let simmer for 5-10 minutes?

 

[legend_018]

Another way to do this is melt your butter. Once melted add an equal part of flour.

Yup I did this. I dont' think I stirred it for 3 minutes though.

Also, I did add the can little at at time, but got a little impatient during the last 1/2 of the can "LOL". I kept stirring with a wooden spoon and didn't have any clumps. I have read a wire whisk is best. Believe it or not, I only have a rubber whisk.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[Katie H]

Katie: Your talking about after the broth has been added. Say the 1 can of broth. Than bring it to a boil and than let simmer for 5-10 minutes?

Legend, gradually add your broth, stirring/whisking all the while. In the beginning it may seem very, very thick. Just keep stirring/whisking until all of your broth has been added. At that point, it may seem rather thin. This is where the "boil" thing comes in. Now, continuously stirring/whisking, bring up to a boil. Like magic, your gravy/sauce will thicken in a matter of minutes.

 

[kitchenelf]

Oh yea, I didn't mention the boil factor - sorry legend and Katie. ...and it gets thicker as it cools too.

 

[michen_122]

This is really helpful, I've never felt very confident about my gravy, but I just don't think I ever really know what I was doing, these tips are perfect, I'm going to try it out with my pork chops tomorrow

 

[legend_018]

I did another experiment "lol". I specifically bought cans of chix broth for these experiments. This time I melted 2 tablespoons of butter, mixed in 2 tablespoons of flour. Mixed it and let it cook for 3 minutes. I than slowly added the broth and than brought it to a boil. I than put it down to simmer and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. I also stirred it a lot. I did end up leaving a very little broth in the can so I used a "little" less broth than 1 can of swansons. I figured it would be easier for me to do that...than to add flour.
It looks pretty good and I tasted it with a spoon and it tastes good too. : ).
I added pepper and a little thyme.

 

[Jeekinz]

TNT Chicken Gravy - (If you made a roast, use the roasting pan on two burners)

2 cans broth, 1/2 cup white wine, rosemary, thyme S & P, juice from 1/2 lemon. Bring to a boil. In a coffee mug, make a slurry of butter, flower and some of the broth. Turn the heat down to a high simmer, add 1 tablespoon at a time of the slurry mixture, and constantly whisk until almost the thickness you want. Continue to whisk for another 1-2 min. and serve.

By adding the thickening agent last, you have more control over the thickness of the gravy. And there is no need to have measurements.

 

[legend_018]

TNT Chicken Gravy - (If you made a roast, use the roasting pan on two burners)

Jeekinz, If you did have a roast - than would you eliminate the 2 cans of broth you mentioned? So instead it would be what ever drippings are in the roast pan and the the wine, and the rest of the instructions you put? Thanks

 

[Jeekinz]

Roast: Remove the chicken and (if you added them) the veggies from the roasting pan, little bits and pieces from the chicken and veggies will only add more flavor to the gravy. Place the roasting pan ove a front and rear burner and the flame on med/high. Add 2 or 3 cans of chicken broth (the measurments really dont matter for this recipie), bring to a boil and scrape the fond (stuff in the pan) and mix into the broth, add the other ingredients and bring to a boil. When it boils, lower the heat to a high simmer. At this point you can add table spoons of the slurry to thicken the gravy. You don't want to thicken it all the way because it will continue to thicken slightly when your serving it.

If you start a gravy with a thickener, you never really have control over how thick the gravy will be, because you cant reduce the broth.

 

[kitchenelf]

legend - you would use the drippings from whatever you were cooking in place of the fat - in your case it would be the butter. Sometimes you have to remove some of the drippings from the pan or you will end up with waaaay too much gravy. Add the flour directly to the drippings (pan is placed over either 1 or 2 burners, depending on the size. Add flour and take it from there. Once it has cooked for the 3 minutes you can then add your liquid. In the case of my Thanksgiving turkey I add water AND a bit of milk. The flavor will be more intense from the drippings. Let it cook for the flavors to come together. Check for seasonings.

To your experiments try adding a bit of poultry seasoning too. You'll be surprised what it does. Also, instead of ALL chicken broth try a bit of milk too.

Don't you love experimenting with food?

If you do use the slurry method just be sure to cook it for the 3 minutes, just like when adding the flour.