Gravy…it’s
still what accompanies many dinners in many households. There is that certain
something about gravy that puts that finishing touch on a meal. Having gravy at
a meal was just a given staple for folks in my generation.
Ron
remembers his Grammy having gravy sometimes three times a day. Yea, that may be
a little excessive but it just shows how gravy was what pulled the meal
together. It was also a way to stretch the food dollar when you had a lot of
folks to feed. You could throw leftover meat, potatoes, veggies, etc. together,
cover it with gravy and have a casserole to feed many for a couple more meals.
Although
making gravy is an important kitchen skill for any home cook, it is still
somewhat of an art form. The term “gravy” was actually used first in Middle
England as “grave.” It is derived from the French since the word was found in
many medieval French cookbooks. In the late 14th century, their
interpretation of gravy was “it consisted of natural cooking juices from
roasting meat.”
As any chef
will tell you, there are certain distinctions between gravies, sauces and jus.
A sauce is defined as a thick liquid served with food, usually savory dishes,
to add moisture and flavor and is not necessarily meat-based. Gravy is a type
of sauce made from the juices of meats that run naturally and are often
thickened with wheat flour or corn starch for added texture. Jus is made from
the same juices but have been refined and condensed to a clear liquid that is
naturally thickened. Jus is a reduction and gravy relies on a thickening agent.
The usual
thickening agents are flour, corn starch and arrowroot. They all make good
gravies, but with different properties. Flour will clump when dropped into a
hot liquid and, if not careful, will make a lumpy gravy unless it is added
slowly and steadily. Corn starch doesn’t clump but will thicken over a course
of a few minutes. It also thickens as it cools so, if too much is added, the
result will be gel-style gravy. Being pure starch, corn starch is a more
powerful thickening agent than flour so you only need half as much. The rule of
thumb is to use one tablespoon of corn starch for each cup of gravy.
Arrowroot
can also be used as a thickener. Obviously, corn starch is made from corn
whereas arrowroot is made from tropical plants. Corn starch will leave the
gravy slightly cloudy and adds a bit of taste to the product. Gravy from
arrowroot is clear with no added taste.
Regardless
of the thickening agent used, there are generally two different camps when
asked how you make gravy. You either start with a roux or a slurry. The end
result is the same, it’s just how you get there. Many families today still use
whichever method that was passed down from earlier generations.
Ron’s Grammy
was in the roux camp. Basically, a roux is a 1:2 mixture of fat to flour…and
with this method, the thickening agent is almost always flour. The fat is often
butter but oils, margarines and bacon fat can also be used and is melted and
combined with pan drippings and simmered for a bit to let all flavors mesh
together. Then the flour is added into the mixture. When that is all combined,
the liquid such as milk, broth or water is added and whisked in until all is
thickened, which makes the gravy.
I, on the
other hand, was raised using the slurry method. This way uses a mixture of
flour (or other thickening) and water or stock which is combined before adding
to the boiling broth and fats. It is slowly added until the gravy reaches
desired consistency.
Besides what
you grew up with, each method works better for different applications. When
making gravies from roasts and other cooked meats, the slurry method is the one
of choice but, when making sausage gravy, steak gravy or others from pan
drippings where the meat has been fried, the roux works better.
All gravies
are not created equal and there are many variations from the traditional meat
gravies that we think of when we eat mashed potatoes and gravy.
Southerners
like their red-eye gravy. This is nothing like your traditional brown gravy.
Black coffee is added to the drippings which creates the unique appearance of
the gravy in a serving bowl. The dark coffee and meat sink to the bottom
leaving a layer of grease visible on the top. This resembles the appearance of
a human eye which is where this southern dish gets its name.
Sawmill
gravy is another specialty. Another southern dish, it gained its fame in
logging camps. It was made from bacon drippings, corn meal and salt which was
browned in a pan before milk was added. Often it would be coarse and thick
which made the lumberjacks accuse the cooks of substituting sawdust for
cornmeal, hence the name.
Another
specialty gravy will surely please all the chocoholics out there. Originating
in Appalachia, mountain people prove that not all gravy comes from meat
drippings. The name comes from an old southern practice of using the word
“gravy” to describe any roux-thickened sauce that is made in a skillet. It can
be sweet or savory. Some refer to chocolate gravy as “soppin chocolate” since
it is usually served over fresh-baked biscuits which are used to “sop” it up.
Sometimes it
is started from all dry ingredients with added butter for the fat. Other times,
the fat comes from the drippings of fried bacon. Either way, it is a sincere
chocolate experience that proves you can have your chocolate for breakfast!
Most of us
never give gravy a second thought, it is just a staple part of our diet.
Different regions of the country have their own variations which proves that
gravy isn’t just gravy. It has been said
that a cook can make gravy out of nothing. No wonder then that, when it comes
to gravy, Ron’s saying, “Good golly Gertie, that’s good gravy” rings true!
CHOCOLATE GRAVY
¼ cup cocoa
powder 2
cups whole milk, warmed
1 cup sugar 4
Tbsp butter, cubed and chilled
3 Tbsp flour hot
biscuits
Pinch salt
*Sift cocoa,
flour, sugar and salt in large skillet
*Whisk
continuously, adding warm milk in slow, steady stream until smooth
*Cook over
medium heat, stirring continuously with heat-proof spatula until gravy thickly
coats spatula,
about 8 minutes
*Remove from
heat, add butter, stir until butter is melted and serve over biscuits.
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