Homemade Gravy

Homemade Gravy is essential for many comfort food meals and holiday dinners. This is a really simple recipe to make and can start with butter or drippings from the meat. 

Mashed potatoes and gravy is a staple for many of our family meals, rather we are having a classic rump roast, Smoked Chicken or Thanksgiving Dinner. My kids are always disappointed if I serve mashed potatoes without the gravy.

Gravy Ingredients

• Butter or drippings
• All Purpose Flour
• Broth (chicken, turkey or beef)
• Kosher Salt & Pepper
• Fine ground rosemary (optional)

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Step By Step Directions for Gravy

1. Gravy starts with a roux. Add butter or drippings to a pan over medium heat. Whisk in flour to combine.

2. Cook, stirring often until mixture is well browned. A medium roux is going to add a lot of flavor to your gravy. 

3. Whisk in broth, salt, pepper and rosemary.

4. Continue to cook bringing mixture to a low boil, whisking until desired thickness is reached. 

• Serve immediately. 

Can gravy be made ahead?

The wonderful thing about gravy is that it can be made up to 3 days in advance. Refrigerate in an airtight container. Reheat in a saucepan just before serving. Whisk in a bit more broth if gravy needs to be thinned.

How to make gravy more flavorful

On occasion gravy can turn out bland, especially if you start with butter instead of drippings and if you are using store bought broth. Spice it up with herbs such as ground sage, garlic or thyme.

I sometimes add a pinch of turmeric to gravy, but it does give the gravy a yellow tone, that may not be desired for holiday meals. A splash of wine or a bit of dijon mustard can also add additional flavor.

Kitchen Bouquet Browning & Seasoning Sauce is another secret ingredient to keep on hand to give gravy a boost of flavor. It's found at most grocery stores, near the bullion and broth. I learned this trick from my mother in law.

How to Fix Salty Gravy

Depending on your drippings and broth, gravy can be too salty. Add a few slices of potato to the gravy and simmer for about 10 minutes. The potato will absorb some of the salt. Remove potatoes before serving.

Fix Lumpy Gravy

A whisk is a must have for making smooth gravy. If you can't whisk out the lumps, a stick blender is the easiest way to smooth out the gravy. A traditional blender will also work, just be careful when blending hot gravy. 

I love that this gravy recipe works with or without drippings. We prefer to make Smoked Turkey for Thanksgiving and don't always have drippings but it still makes rich and delicious gravy.

One of our favorite meals is smoked chicken, we will often grill 2-3 at a time. We always use the carcasses to make homemade chicken broth, which we freeze. It makes the absolute best broth that in turn will make amazing brown gravy. It is so worth the time and is so handy for holiday meals.

It's great o have an easy homemade gravy recipe on hand to complete your holiday menu and add something special every day dinners.

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