The Gravy Wars

[Jet Gorgon]

My fam made gravy from almost any fried meat. I was shocked when I was in Thailand and all the English pub owners used bisto crystals for their Sunday roast gravies. What? Tastes like phoney baloney.

Roast beef gravy is made from the drippings. Cook the roast and there's juice and scrapings enough for three days of gravy, so you can slice up onions and leftover beef to make leftover roast gravy on bread.

Remove cooked beef from roaster, put roaster with juices on a hob and bring to a boil. Sprinkle flour in it and let brown while stirring with a fork. When the flour is cooked, start adding the hot water from the potatoes you cooked for the mash. Stir and stir until it thickens. Feking real gravy.

You fry hamburgers, chicken, pork, liver, you can make gravy out of the drippings, as above. We usually did milk gravy for chuck or pork chops -- substitute milk for the potato water.

Tutsi, backup please.

[Mid]

^

Mom ??????

[Jet Gorgon]

^ clean up your room before supper, Mid.

[Mid]

[slapout]

My favorite gravy was made from the ham or bacon drippings which was cooked for breakfast. Used cream and milk as liquid for gravy and spooned it on everything including sourdough biscuits.

[jayenram]

Roast beef gravy is made from the drippings. Cook the roast and there's juice and scrapings enough for three days of gravy, so you can slice up onions and leftover beef to make leftover roast gravy on bread.

Remove cooked beef from roaster, put roaster with juices on a hob and bring to a boil. Sprinkle flour in it and let brown while stirring with a fork. When the flour is cooked, start adding the hot water from the potatoes you cooked for the mash. Stir and stir until it thickens. Feking real gravy.

That is virtually precisely how my old mum used to make gravy. However, here I don't roast beef (fg doesn't eat it) but I have gravy on many other things. I therefore have to resort to gravy granules or similar for my "sausage, liver, onions and mashed spuds", "seasoned puddings", "Yorkshire puddings", etc.

[lazeeboy]

Roast beef gravy is made from the drippings. Cook the roast and there's juice and scrapings enough for three days of gravy, so you can slice up onions and leftover beef to make leftover roast gravy on bread.

Remove cooked beef from roaster, put roaster with juices on a hob and bring to a boil. Sprinkle flour in it and let brown while stirring with a fork. When the flour is cooked, start adding the hot water from the potatoes you cooked for the mash. Stir and stir until it thickens. Feking real gravy.

That is virtually precisely how my old mum used to make gravy. However, here I don't roast beef (fg doesn't eat it) but I have gravy on many other things. I therefore have to resort to gravy granules or similar for my "sausage, liver, onions and mashed spuds", "seasoned puddings", "Yorkshire puddings", etc.

living in thailand ,ive forgotten what real gravy taste like .......

[listenup]

Why do so many people us bisto? yuk!

Here's how i make mine to eat with roast beef/lamb:

After roasting the joint of meat, remove the meat to rest and take away as much as the fat as possible.

Then, have the baking tray over medium heat on the stove, sprinkle flower on top.

Get a whisk, and mix the crusty meat stuck to the pan, meat juices and flour together.

Then add some red wine... continue to mix so you have a runny paste.

Then add some water or even better, some home made beef stock.

Mix together and sieve into a saucepan.

continue to add some water/stock to rinse out the baking tray... make sure you add all of that precious meat gravy into the saucepan.

Then, bring to the boil - this will remove the flour'ry taste.

Wolla! You have the best home made gravy you would have ever eaten!

[percy2]

Milk has no place in this thread.

Otherwise Jet is bang on.

Cheers

[tutsiwarrior]

My fam made gravy from almost any fried meat. I was shocked when I was in Thailand and all the English pub owners used bisto crystals for their Sunday roast gravies. What? Tastes like phoney baloney.

Roast beef gravy is made from the drippings. Cook the roast and there's juice and scrapings enough for three days of gravy, so you can slice up onions and leftover beef to make leftover roast gravy on bread.

Remove cooked beef from roaster, put roaster with juices on a hob and bring to a boil. Sprinkle flour in it and let brown while stirring with a fork. When the flour is cooked, start adding the hot water from the potatoes you cooked for the mash. Stir and stir until it thickens. Feking real gravy.

You fry hamburgers, chicken, pork, liver, you can make gravy out of the drippings, as above. We usually did milk gravy for chuck or pork chops -- substitute milk for the potato water.

Tutsi, backup please.

(sob) I'm sorry miz jet, I only ever made gravy usin' bisto (oh, boo hoo )...even in the UK when I did roast for Sunday lunch...

I've only known 3 people that could do gravy from scratch: my Tennessee grandma, my Irish ex MiL and one other who was also skilled in traditional US/UK cuisine...they all seemed to have a touch that always eluded me...tutsi ain't worth a shit as a saucier ...the latter came to my rescue when I almost ruined the sauce in an otherwise splendid boeuf bourguinion...a few deft strokes and tutsi was in tears with gratitude...

I do OK making a sauce for roast pork loin in mustard...the pan drippings and the mustard that was slathered on the meat before roasting have already combined nicely...just add a little cream and swish about and bob's yer uncle...

Edited September 22, 2007 by tutsiwarrior

[JR Texas]

My fam made gravy from almost any fried meat. I was shocked when I was in Thailand and all the English pub owners used bisto crystals for their Sunday roast gravies. What? Tastes like phoney baloney.

Roast beef gravy is made from the drippings. Cook the roast and there's juice and scrapings enough for three days of gravy, so you can slice up onions and leftover beef to make leftover roast gravy on bread.

Remove cooked beef from roaster, put roaster with juices on a hob and bring to a boil. Sprinkle flour in it and let brown while stirring with a fork. When the flour is cooked, start adding the hot water from the potatoes you cooked for the mash. Stir and stir until it thickens. Feking real gravy.

You fry hamburgers, chicken, pork, liver, you can make gravy out of the drippings, as above. We usually did milk gravy for chuck or pork chops -- substitute milk for the potato water.

Tutsi, backup please.

(sob) I'm sorry miz jet, I only ever made gravy usin' bisto (oh, boo hoo )...even in the UK when I did roast for Sunday lunch...

I've only known 3 people that could do gravy from scratch: my Tennessee grandma, my Irish ex MiL and one other who was also skilled in traditional US/UK cuisine...they all seemed to have a touch that always eluded me...tutsi ain't worth a shit as a saucier ...the latter came to my rescue when I almost ruined the sauce in an otherwise splendid boeuf bourguinion...a few deft strokes and tutsi was in tears with gratitude...

I do OK making a sauce for roast pork loin in mustard...the pan drippings and the mustard that was slathered on the meat before roasting have already combined nicely...just add a little cream and swish about and bob's yer uncle...

Willie Nelson's Texas Cream Gravy: 2 tablespoons bacon grease.........add 1 tablespoon flour to it (maybe a bit more).........make a roux (sp?).......add 1 cup milk (or more depending on how thick you want it).......add pepper and bit of salt.......pour on top of anything.......chicken fried steak, bread, ice cream........yuummmmm

[Jet Gorgon]

OMG. Two chefs I admire and bow to, Tutsi and Jayenram, and neither makes home style gravy. I am devastated. Heart-broken. Shattered by gravy granules.

Gravy has to be the easiest thing to make ever. And it is sooooo good. Look at JR Texas' delish Willie Nelson recipe, and Listenup and Slapout's.

Please try it, Tutsi and Jayenram...

Percy, I first tried milk gravy when I was about 12; made from pork chop drippings. Abfab, it is. I just made a hamburger and mashed potatoes. Sliced onions and added them to the hamburger drippings, stirred about until onions were soft. Then turned up the heat to get it bubbling and sprinkled in flour and browned while stirring with a fork. Slowly added the hot potato water and kept stirring to dissolve any flour lumps. Then turned down and simmered awhile, stirring occasionally to keep the skin at bay. Oh, yummy.

I reckon you could make gravy out of sausage drippings, too, but never tried.

[gosta]

Links to gravy recipes and some info:

http://www.deliaonline.com/cookery-school/...ravy,40,AR.html

http://www.realgravy.co.uk/

turkey and gravy

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/gravy_2812.shtml

[Choscura]

I never much cared for beef gravy, but a good turkey or chicken gravy is always good. drippings from the turkey on thanksgiving, put 'em in a pot, add a bit of oil if it's too water, and then add a spoonfull or two of flour to thicken it a bit. absolutely perfect. can easily be made from any kind of stock you've got- turkey, chicken, duck, goose, beef, etc.

oh man. I just realized I haven't had mom's gravy in almost 3 years. I miss it!

[lazeeboy]

I never much cared for beef gravy, but a good turkey or chicken gravy is always good. drippings from the turkey on thanksgiving, put 'em in a pot, add a bit of oil if it's too water, and then add a spoonfull or two of flour to thicken it a bit. absolutely perfect. can easily be made from any kind of stock you've got- turkey, chicken, duck, goose, beef, etc.

oh man. I just realized I haven't had mom's gravy in almost 3 years. I miss it!

to much aggro ,just open the pot put 2 spoons of bisto gravy granules in hot water ,you gravy

[Digger]

This makes me remember the time I was in some restaurant in Pattaya owned by a Brit who clearly had no idea what he was doing in the kitchen and I overheard him boasting to some guy they "use real Bisto gravy - not that homemade rubbish" - I decided not to order any food on that occasion. Cant for the life of me remember which place it was as it was clearly such a memorable experience.

For what its worth my mum used to make Gravy as partly described above but she added some bisto instead of the flour and it always tasted delicous - the secret is using the meat stock to get the flavour into the gravy I guess (speaking as someone who cant cook), vegetable water and then simmering it up to near boiling on the stove.

[JohnBKKK]

Bisto - Maggy - all the same crap - new a guy who used to think he could cook and all his sauces tasted the same - OXO what is the problem with making your ow gravy?

Or alternatively buy some beef bones and roast them in the oven for 2 hours at 250C - place them into a large stock pot with some cellary, leek, carrots parsley and onions and water and simmer for 2-3 hours - remove all and reduce to 1/3 - now you have the perfect base for many sauces - it takes some time and a little effort, but this should last you for months since you can make a lot and freeze it

Edited September 24, 2007 by JohnBKKK

[lazeeboy]

Bisto - Maggy - all the same crap - new a guy who used to think he could cook and all his sauces tasted the same - OXO what is the problem with making your ow gravy?

Or alternatively buy some beef bones and roast them in the oven for 2 hours at 250C - place them into a large stock pot with some cellary, leek, carrots parsley and onions and water and simmer for 2-3 hours - remove all and reduce to 1/3 - now you have the perfect base for many sauces - it takes some time and a little effort, but this should last you for months since you can make a lot and freeze it

5 hours to make gravy

[Jet Gorgon]

555 LBoy, that's a real chef's base for soups and gravies from John -- homemade superior equivalent to gravy in a box. John, what do you reckon about cooking it and then pouring into ice-cube trays; once frozen you can crack them into baggies and take out as needed? We can turn Tutsi and Jayenram onto this.

Edited September 24, 2007 by Jet Gorgon

[wine-o]

555 LBoy, that's a real chef's base for soups and gravies from John -- homemade superior equivalent to gravy in a box. John, what do you reckon about cooking it and then pouring into ice-cube trays; once frozen you can crack them into baggies and take out as needed? We can turn Tutsi and Jayenram onto this.

This is a great way to go for the home chef. Heat the frozen stock to a simmer, and meat drippings from your cut, deglaze with your favorite wine or spirit, add herbs and/or seasoning and...presto, you have a sauce. To make the sauce glossy whisk in a few pieces of very cold butter until emulsified.

[JohnBKKK]

Hi Jet,

sure, ice cubes would be fine. You should however first let it cool overnight in the fridge, the next day remove the fat layer on top and than freeze it in any portion size you like -

This is also the basis for a demi glace - which requires another 4 hours though and is the reason why very few good restaurants have really deep, fantastic tasting sauces and others don't - most don't make the effort

For home use however -

Quick onion gravy:

slice onions into thin rings

dust them with some flower

heat olive oil in pan to medium heat

add the onions with a pinch of sugar and fry slowly until caramelized and a strong medium brown

now add the appropiate amount of your frozen stock base

The flower you dusted onto the onions will also thicken the sauce

Add salt, freshly ground black pepper and some rosmarin

shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes

[Jet Gorgon]

Now that sounds heavenly, John. How much olive oil? And, I don't like rosemary in cooking...but I love the fresh scent of the plant.

[ProThaiExpat]

I learned the secret to making good gravy on a consistent basis years ago by following this formula:

One unit (teaspoon, tablespoon or cup) of "fat", oil, drippings, butter etc. to

One unit of flour.

Mix and bring to bubble stage for about 3 minutes, careful not to brown too much. This is often called a "roux"

Add eight times as much liquid as the basic unit, ie one cup fat, one cup flour and eight cups liquid.

Getting the flavor into this mix is accomplished by the flavor of the liquid in most cases, ie. chicken, beef or other stock and the intensity of the flavor in that liquid.

Drippings are very flavorful and are usually just fat, perhaps with some moisture.

When roasting fowl, boiling the innards, bones or other discarded parts will make an excellent broth to add to the fat and flour mix.

Imitation flavorings can be used but clearly are not as tasty as the broth or drippings obtained from the roasted food or a broth made from boiled discarded parts.

"Pan gravy", adding flour to the drippings can be problematical, do to the inconsistency of the eye in estimating the amount of flour to add as well as how much liquid to add. Consistency of quality in "eye ball" made gravy is extremely difficult but for family affairs, one rarely hears complaints regarding lumps, etc.

[Jet Gorgon]

^ hehe, I've yet to make lumpy pan gravy but I do like your recipe, ProThai. (I never measure..) Thanks!

[tutsiwarrior]

"Pan gravy", adding flour to the drippings can be problematical, do to the inconsistency of the eye in estimating the amount of flour to add as well as how much liquid to add. Consistency of quality in "eye ball" made gravy is extremely difficult but for family affairs, one rarely hears complaints regarding lumps, etc.

yeah...this is the problem I have...no doubt one can develop an accurate eye ball to give the desired consistency but ye need practice an' I don't do roasted meats that much...my pathetic past attempts were such that I would no way offer them to diners as the glop would ruin an otherwise good meal...

Edited September 26, 2007 by tutsiwarrior

[LeungKen]

My fam made gravy from almost any fried meat. I was shocked when I was in Thailand and all the English pub owners used bisto crystals for their Sunday roast gravies. What? Tastes like phoney baloney.

Roast beef gravy is made from the drippings. Cook the roast and there's juice and scrapings enough for three days of gravy, so you can slice up onions and leftover beef to make leftover roast gravy on bread.

Remove cooked beef from roaster, put roaster with juices on a hob and bring to a boil. Sprinkle flour in it and let brown while stirring with a fork. When the flour is cooked, start adding the hot water from the potatoes you cooked for the mash. Stir and stir until it thickens. Feking real gravy.

You fry hamburgers, chicken, pork, liver, you can make gravy out of the drippings, as above. We usually did milk gravy for chuck or pork chops -- substitute milk for the potato water.

Tutsi, backup please.

/

It's good to read that so many people are tackling the really big issues, soon I'll be subjected to the perfect custard recipe - When I was a kid you were lucky to get meat, let alone gravy to put on it.

[Jet Gorgon]

^ Leungken, most of us here have seen and done the big issues, so if you want to toodle off to the general forum and address what's happening in Burma, be my guest. This is the food forum. What do you want, a recipe for an A-bomb? Start your own thread. Some of us do eat food. I regret to brag, but I got roast beef, gravy and mashed potatoes at least once a year when I was a kid.

Tutsi, you have to sprinkle (emphasis on sprinkle, like sifting a few spoonfuls in) the flour in the pan while stirring constantly, or else add a couple of spoonfuls of flour to say half a cup of COLD water and stir with a fork until smooth. Then add in a slow pour to the bubbling drippings and stir, stir, stir.

[LeungKen]

^ Leungken, most of us here have seen and done the big issues, so if you want to toodle off to the general forum and address what's happening in Burma, be my guest. This is the food forum. What do you want, a recipe for an A-bomb? Start your own thread. Some of us do eat food. I regret to brag, but I got roast beef, gravy and mashed potatoes at least once a year when I was a kid.

OOOOPs SORRY Jet Gorgon....I'm toodling.. it's evidently a touchy subject.

I stand corrected, chastened and chastised and promise never to interfere in the gravy wars again.

My Apologies Again

[Jet Gorgon]

Geez, LeungK, did you think this was a political thread about only the rich getting gravy and the poor scrounging for scraps of rotten cabbage? General forum is several fora above. You can debate off-hob topics there. Have fun, and lighten up.

PS, you're welcome to join in here if you have a recipe or real comment about this topic. Actually, you're the first poster to troll and hijack a food thread methinks.

Edited September 26, 2007 by Jet Gorgon

[Kan Win]

Gravy Recipes

USA version

French version

The French one is the one that I learn BTW many a year ago

tis your choice witch one you choose.

Yours truly,

Kan Win