Gravy from scratch

[Luvabigdog]

Ok....I'll admit that that pot roast in the crock pot didn't turn out all that well. The meat was moist and tender and fell apart easily. Not much for flavor though. Confession time: we ate it but didn't enjoy it that much and Sveta (my wife) made us some sandwiches a couple hours later. Since we didn't enjoy it much, that means we have a lot left over that I was going to try salvage in some way.

I'm thinking of open-face beef sandwiches on Texas toast with gravy. But I don't know how to make gravy. I read some old threads and it seems straightforward. Take the juice from the broth, heat it, and start stirring in flower until it thickens. I plan to chop up the leftover meat and saute with onions & peppers then throw it in the gravy to simmer.

Am I going about this correctly?

 

[Selkie]

Don't EVER add flour to a hot liquid to make gravy!!! It will immediately clump!!!

Mix the flour with a splash of milk until it becomes a thin slurry, and THEN whisk the mixture into your drippings.

 

[Luvabigdog]

Ok....that's good to know. Should I heat the drippings, then slowly add the milk/flour mix or should I start with everything cold.....or everything warm?

Sorry for all the questions but this is my first time with gravy so please be gentle.

 

[GrillingFool]

You MUST cook your flour first. Mix it with equal parts of fat... oil, butter, lard...
Stir while cooking until it is smooth and creamy.
Add slowly to simmering liquid, cook till thickened.

Alternatively, go get a package of Pioneer brand brown gravy mix.
GOOD STUFF!!!

 

[Selkie]

Ok....that's good to know. Should I heat the drippings, then slowly add the milk/flour mix or should I start with everything cold.....or everything warm?

Sorry for all the questions but this is my first time with gravy so please be gentle.

You don't have to cook the flour first by making a roux. That's one way, but simmering your drippings while adding the flour/milk mixture and then whisking for two or three minutes will take care of the raw flour taste.

I simply heat the metal roasting pan over a medium flame burner until you get the simmering bubbles. Cooking the flour is what is important, not how.

 

[Mama]

I make mine like GrillingFool. I like to cook the flour/fat mixture just until it starts to get some color and then slowly add the liquid while stirring. Cook until thickened.

Or, if you have cornstarch, you can make a slurry out of COLD water and cornstarch and add it to you liquid. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.

Or, you could just add some BBQ sauce to the beef and thin it out with a little of your liquid and make BBQ beef sandwiches.

 

[CharlieD]

Wow. So many different opinions and we only had 3 posts. Sauté, so to speak, your flour first, tills it starts changing color in oil or butter or some other fat. Then slowly start adding liquid, whatever it is. It could be dripping from your roast, it could be milk, and it could be soup or wine. Make you sure your liquid is cold, well room temp. You never want to add hot liquid to hot flour. Stir constantly. Make sure to add liquid a little bit at the time and make sure you stirred everything into very consistent mixture; there should not be any clumps. It must be absolutely smooth. You will have to do it fast. When all the liquid is added, season to your liking. Salt, pepper, seasoning, etc. Cook for few minutes until the gravy is thickened, done. It will get a little bit thicker as it gets colder.
Simple rule of thumb: 2 table spoon oil, 2 table spoon flour, and 1 cup of liquid.

 

[pacanis]

Might as well add another method

I like to keep the pots and pans I use to a minimum if at all possible. When I make an open faced sandwich from leftovers I heat up some EVOO in a skillet or saute pan, add my leftovers to it until heated through, then sprinkle the flour in (about 1 TBS), stir until it is mixed in and cooked a bit, then I add my broth, bring to a boil and simmer until thickened.
In your case you could start by sutéeing the onions and peppers until just about cooked, then add the meat and take it from there. One pot to do the whole shebang

 

[Luvabigdog]

I guess this is just like "making gravy" and everybody has their own method. I remember seeing my mother doing it a few times and I seem to remember her starting with butter & flour in a pan, then adding juice or some magical liquid.

This was a big help. Thanks everyone who replied. I would have completely desecrated my first batch unless I posted here. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again.

 

[betterthanabox]

I make my gravy like this:

Add a few tablespoons of cornstarch to a small bowl. Work in a water a 1/2 tsp at a time until the cornstarch and water is mixed and thick. You don't want it to be clumpy and are looking for the consistency of buttermilk. Add that to whatever hot stock or broth you wish to make into gravy, whisking continuously and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat when it is as thick as you want it.

It's pretty easy.

 

[Andy M.]

I guess this is just like "making gravy" and everybody has their own method. I remember seeing my mother doing it a few times and I seem to remember her starting with butter & flour in a pan, then adding juice or some magical liquid...

This is all there is to it. Cook the butter and flour in a pan over medium heat stirring frequently until it turns medium to dark brown. Whisk in beef broth or stock and bring to a boil. You have gravy. Season with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders or whatever you like.

It also works with chicken stock for chicken gravy.

 

[Sprout]

It's a bit off topic from the gravy, but if you have a lot of meat and aren't sure if you can eat that many sandwiches, you can always make some into shredded beef tacos, too. Shred the beef with a fork and throw the back into the crockpot with some cumin, coriander, onion, peppers (hot, sweet, or both, according to your taste) and a bit of salt if it needs it. Let cook for a couple hours. Then, right before serving, add some fresh chopped cilantro and a bit of lime juice to taste and serve with your favorite toppings in warmed tortillas.