Gravy

Meat juices, Bisto powder (not granules, which I detest) and various herbs, sometimes a little curry powder, and chilli powder. My family loves my gravy.

Neither thick nor thin gravy for me, but just slightly thickened gravy so that it pours well and coats thinly.

I can remember an uncle in hospital refusing to eat a meal where the gravy was more like set, savoury blancmange that could be picked up like a potato.The nurse was outraged that he wouldn't eat it. I told her that I wouldn't want to eat it either.

Spending a lot of time in France, I think a description of jus being 'thin' is misleading. What is served is a reduction of the watery mix first prepared. It will be reduced in volume by heating by as much as 90%. What is left is effectively a sticky slowly pouring sauce, not that different in fact from the slightly thickened gravy I make at home with pan juices, vegetable water, wine and gravy granules.

DS is a vegetarian and I have a jar of Bisto Carmelised Onion Gravy Granules in the cupboard. They are quite tasty but I usually add some redcurrant jelly/tomato puree or whatever I think takes away the artificial taste. I'm a great fan of James Martin and tend to add a knob of butter to a lot of things (and double cream!!!!). When doing the onion gravy if I have time I carmelise onions with brown sugar to start if off.

Dripping toast! Be still my beating heart! We are having pork tommorrow so there will be dripping! To go back to gravy, does anyone make gravy for a vegetarian? My daughter doesn’t eat meat and the vegetarian gravy substitutes are horrible. I have tried making a roux base and adding vegetable stock and marmite, but even that is a bit ‘meah’, if you see what I mean. I would like to serve her up something that tastes half decent for once. She looks at the family gravy boat with longing in her eye!

I always make twice as much gravy as I think we will need , there’s just never enough otherwise. According to the DGC my gravy is the best (much better than other gran) whereas other grans Yorkshire puds are better than mine. I asked her and she uses Aunt Bessie’s

You've reminded me of an appointment I had with a nurse when my cholesterol was a bit high. She asked me how I make gravy and there was a sharp intake of breath when I mentioned meat juices. Apparently this is a big no no. As she was very obese (and I am not), I completely ignored everything she said and had great trouble looking at her face rather than her stomach!

Drain meat juices into a separator jug and leave to stand. Meanwhile make a roux in a heavy saucepan with butter and plain flour.
Cook the roux until a dark, nutty colour.
Remove roux from heat and stir in cold homemade stock dependant upon what meat it is to go with i.e. beef stock for beef, chicken stock for chicken etc.
Return pan to heat source.
When beginning to come to the boil add the strained juices, leaving the fat behind to make dripping for future roasties/Yorkshire puds.
(Present roasties/Yorkshires will be cooking in dripping from a previous roast.)
Then add whatever depending upon what I'm serving. Red wine for beef, a little redcurrant jelly for lamb, white wine for Chicken, a little cider for Pork.
Reduce until preferred consistency is reached.

It's midnight. I have just finished reading all your posts. Now I am hungry!
I just fancy a nice slice of dripping toast!

Have copied my Mum and use Burdall's Gravy Salt and slightly thicken it with cornflour and water. If doing lamb or venison I usually put in a spoonful or so of redcurrant jelly and add a few small knobs of butter in the venison gravy.

Meat juices with same from veg if boiled (I mainly steam veg) some water and Bisto powder, do not like granules. If chicken meat, use cornflour instead of Bisto with a tad of white wine as long as not being consumed by children. Otherwise a chicken stock cube is added.

Water from carrots, cup of full fat milk Bovril cube, Bisto gravy granules, large glass of red wine with beef or white if pork or chicken, stir, when thickened add meat juices and splash of double cream. It is quite thick a bit like a sauce.

That sounds delicious rosiebee - and a good way to cook a whole garlic bulb as well.

I will say this very quietly - I really dislike gravy made from gravy granules, it always tastes greasy to me.
It doesn't even taste as if the fat from the meat is used for gravy - just greasy.

My husband has a horror of gravy granules, he only uses meat juices, wine, water and flour.

meat juices and bisto powder ( which is getting harder to find)

That sounds delicious.
I didn't realise when I started this thread that we had so many creative cooks.
To be honest I started it as a reaction to all the depressing scaremongering about Brexit. There are obviously more important things .

This has evolved over time. While meat is cooking, wrap a garlic bulb in foil and roast about 30/40 mins. Stir some red wine into meat juices and let bubble for a few mins. Scrape all into large saucepan [I'm tooooo messy to make it in the roasting pan. Add Oxo and tsp Bovril dissolved in hot water + veg water. Squeeze at least half of garlic cloves into pan. Put plain flour in lidded container and shake thoroughly with cold water. Add to pan with good spoonful of redcurrant jelly. Take a balloon whisk and stir vigorously over a low heat until it thickens. That also breaks up garlic into gravy. Simmer for 5 mins, stirring.
I've never written my "method" out before and it sounds a bit of a faff but my gravy is held in high regard by my dear G'children and my DH tells people he married me for it. This is only for roasts, otherwise it's gravy granules + obligatory redcurrant jelly.

re lumps - there's a special flour you can buy that never goes lumpy in sauces.
www.francine.com/produit-francine/farine-fluide-francine
www.goldmedalflour.com/ourflourstory/ourflour/wondraflour

But sieves were made for sifting out lumps - according to St Delia!

You can get low salt cubes these days and also Bovril cubes don't contain gluten. My sister was hopeless at making gravy and had to strain it through a sieve before serving.

Depends what I cooked. Roast; meat juices with a lot of the fat poured off, veg water, gravy granules or cornflour.

roast that's not very juicy; meat juices, bit of fat (whatever I grab) onions sliced, well cooked down and brown, add garlic, maybe add herbs de Provence, or mustard, bit of cornflour, salt, pepper, slowly add veg water but not cauliflower, season to taste.
feeling lavish: either one of above but add some red wine, cook it out well.

Good old bisto powder and meat juices. Oxo low salt too.

Meat juices, cabbage water and granules. Very plain and simple.

Stock pot or stock cube in water, chopped onions, herbs to taste, s&p, simmer gently while the meat is cooking then stir into meat juices and thicken with flour or cornflour. I likegravy to be thick. Sometimes, if I have a a few mushrooms, I slice those and add them.

I drain the vegetables into the meat tin and stir to get as much of the juices as possible. Then return it all to the empty pan and thicken with Bisto Best. Yum!