Still having problems with gravy

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

legend_018

Head Chef
Joined
Apr 25, 2007
Messages
1,189
Location
NH
i pour the gravy over the food and it all slides off it seems onto the plate instead of staying say on the mashed potatoes. like some will stay, but just seems it all puddles around the food on the plate.

1 tablespoon butter and 1 heaping tablespoon of flour. cooked for a few minutes to cook the flour. kept on mixing and definitely cooked long time.

chicken pan juices from oven slowly put into the pan on the stove. about a cup. brought to a near boil, than simmered for 15 minutes. wasnt looking to make a lot of gravy.

pan juices was from a roasted chicken. water was put into the bottom of pan when first putting the chicken in the oven.

any ideas
 
It sounds like it is not thick enough to cling to the food. Does it seem thick or thin to you?
 
juuices were definetely hot. i guess it would be considered thin.
 
If was thin then that would be the issue. The thicker it is the more it will cling to food. Try using a little more flour until you get to a thickness that lets it cling the amount you want.

For mashed potatoes, I usually make a well in the center of the potatoes to pour the gravy into. Of course you can't do that with other foods.
 
seems majority of the advise out there is 1 tablespooon flour, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 cup broth.
 
Maybe the majority of people writing those recipes like a thinner gravy. If what you are doing is not getting you the desired result then you need to change what you are doing.
 
If you want to thicken, fill a glass halfway with water and put a few spoonfuls of flour or cornstarch. Whisk it with a fork so there are no lumps. When your gravy is boiling but not thickening, you have the mixture ready. Pour a couple of spoonfuls at a time, until you get the desired consistancy. I like my gravy thick - so I tend to use a lot of flour.

To make the flour work, you have to bring it to a good boil, too.
 
Could it be that there is too much gelatin from the chicken bones? That would make it more jelly-like and tend to just slide off. Do you strain your broth before adding it to the gravy or pull off the fat that is floating? It sounds like it's either to gelatinous or too fatty too me.
 
only cook the flour and butter for a minute. the longer you cook the flour and the darker it gets the less thickening power it has.
 
I use flour and milk to thicken my gravies. Its a wicked thickening combo. I also use the volcano approach to mashed potatos. Use a spoon to make a crater and fill it up.

Then! Eat the potatos from the outside in and see how long it takes for mount potato to flood the local corn town with brown hot lava.
 
I use flour and milk to thicken my gravies. Its a wicked thickening combo. I also use the volcano approach to mashed potatos. Use a spoon to make a crater and fill it up.

Then! Eat the potatos from the outside in and see how long it takes for mount potato to flood the local corn town with brown hot lava.
LOL me also!!


ok so no butter? just a slurry of flour and milk?
 
I use 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour. I cook the flour until it starts to turn a nice golden brown. I then add my chicken stock/broth...a little at a time while I continue to stir until I get it the consistency I want. I don't measure how much but I would imagine its about a cup.
 
I use 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour. I cook the flour until it starts to turn a nice golden brown. I then add my chicken stock/broth...a little at a time while I continue to stir until I get it the consistency I want. I don't measure how much but I would imagine its about a cup.
hey there mama!! i also go against the rule often and use 2:1 ratio usually. 2 parts flour, 2 parts butter Roux and 1 part liquid.
 
most of my gravies are just the meat juices and the deglais from the drippings, brought to a boil and then thickened with flour and milk. It turns out nice and thick. Sometimes I strain it but only for company as my family likes the bits from the pan.
 
hey there mama!! i also go against the rule often and use 2:1 ratio usually. 2 parts flour, 2 parts butter Roux and 1 part liquid.

Well..."Hey There" to you too my friend! I like to cook my roux a little longer to get a nice golden brown color to it so it loses some of its thickening power so I have to use 1 part liquid.
 
Well..."Hey There" to you too my friend! I like to cook my roux a little longer to get a nice golden brown color to it so it loses some of its thickening power so I have to use 1 part liquid.
i cook mine till just golden which usually only takes me 1 to maybe 2 minutes. maybe i cook at to high a fire hmmmmmmmmmm it usually turns out medium thick. i don't like mud but i don't want soup unless of course i am making soup!! LOL
 
my mother in law just brings the chix juices to a boil. in a separate cup with very warm water, she mixed flour until desired consistancy. than puts that into the boiling chicken juices, lets boil for a few minutes and than simmer. she doesnt use butter or melt butter/flour in pan first.
 
Back
Top Bottom