Let's Make Gravy.
 

There are a gazillion ways to make gravy this thread is dedicated to how folks make it.
Please feel free to post your methods here if you like.
This first method is the normal way I make gravy and for the first time in my life ever measured anything to do it.
What you will see in the picture is.
About a cup of flour.
One half cup of oil from fried chicken wings.
Powdered milk to make about one cup of milk.
Salt.
Garlic powder.
Black pepper.
Two quarts of water.
A pre heated twelve inch lodge skillet at about medium heat.
A spatula.
A whisk.
When the skillet is hot pour in the oil let it get hot and dump in tbe flour.
Turn down the heat to medium low or less and start scraping and stirring with the spatula.
Worth
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Okay you can turn the heat up to almost medium if you like or you can make the roux thicker if you want.
The thicker the roux the lower the heat but less oil.
Hear you can see the roux has stopped bubbling as the moisture in the flour has cooked out.
If you take a spatula and scrape it across the bottom it should look like this about thirty seconds later.
I have also added a little black pepper.
Worth
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Thanks for posting this Worth. I've always been lazy and bought the tasteless packaged gravy mixes. I will give your recipe a try next time I make chicken fried steak.

Not to be funny, (even though it sort of was) last night when I was cooking boneless buffalo wings, I found that I used not enough oil to be able to cook all the chicken pieces. And yeah, it turned into accidental gravy. I had to get another pan and oil to finish cooking them.

Here are a few thoughts on the powdered milk.
I haven't bought milk in I dont know how long.
I have found that I was pouring out more milk than I was using and wasting money.
So I keep powdered milk on hand for cooking.
If I do buy dairy it is heavy cream or some other such thing.
I have also found that heavy cream will last almost forever in the refrigerator at least if unopened.

Worth

[QUOTE=AlittleSalt;510963]Thanks for posting this Worth. I've always been lazy and bought the tasteless packages gravy mixes. I will give your recipe a try next time I make chicken fried steak.

Not to be funny, (even though it sort of was) last night when I was cooking boneless buffalo wings, I found that I used not enough oil to be able to cook all the chicken pieces. And yeah, it turned into accidental gravy. I had to get another pan and oil to finish cooking them.[/QUOTE]

Salt this one isn't finished yet stay tuned.
When I am through you will be able to make gravy in many different ways and never have to buy the mixes again.:D
The pet wild possum is going to get fatter then ever.
There is no way I can eat all of this.:lol:

Worth

Worth, looks amazing! Now I want some biscuits and gravy..........

[QUOTE=jillian;510975]Worth, looks amazing! Now I want some biscuits and gravy..........[/QUOTE]

Thank you Jillian.

Okay it is done what you see is I have added yet more black pepper and some garlic powder.
I had it on low heat to toast the power at little but not burn.
Then in the last picture it is the color I want it to be.
At this point you can turn the stove off and let it cool or move on to adding the fluid.
For beginners I suggest letting it cool.
Another reason to let it cool is maybe you dont want the gravy now but later.
You can also make big batches of this stuff and put it in a jar for later use.
It will keep for a long time in the refrigerator like months.
On the counter less time or about as long as it takes any oil to go rancid.
The smell should be heavenly like toasted flour not burnt.
Worth
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Okay the roux has cooled and you are now ready for the final steps.
Pour in the cup of milk and one and one half quarts of water.
Go back to the sink and fill both of the jars full of water again.
Dont wait.
Now turn the heat back up to a little less than medium.
You don't want the skillet to get to hot on the bottom.
At this point I like to add yet more black pepper and about one half teaspoon of salt.
For some time during the heating process you are going to see what looks like a mess.
Don't worry as the fluid heats up it will go away.
Just about the time it starts to steam it will start to look better.
In the last picture you will see how I am flipping the spatula on the bottom of the skillet flat side down to keep everything mixed up.
As you do this also scrape the bottom with the end like in the other picture to mix it even more.
This is going to take a while.
Worth
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Now after the gravy has heated up and you have continued to stir you will end up just fine.
By adding the last one half quart of water you have allowed yourself leeway to take your time and let it reduce without having to worry about lumps and being in a hurry.
The gravy will be at about the desired thickness when you can take a big spoon and drag it across the bottom sideways.
You should be able to see the bottom of the skillet if it takes about one second to move the spoon across twelve inch skillet.
I didn't need the other two quarts of water but they were there if I needed them.
This process made about one and one half quarts of gravy.
The remainder was put in a quart jar hot and will be transferred to the refrigerator.
Towards the end of the process I heated up some oil and fried some chicken wings.
Let's eat.:D
Worth
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No greasy gray glumps ! And a very nice presentation. Love the radishes !

A little hint- If you use Wondra Flour - It will not lump up

Old chef

Good job Worth!

The best tip you gave is letting the roux cool down for beginners - that's usually the time slot most newbies run into trouble and end up with lumps.

I'd like to add just one other thing. If your gravy "breaks" just add a little more of the cold liquid to bring it back together.

Just so people know I had to go back and edit the amount of oil from one cup to one half cup.:lol:
I normally use a little less oil or more flour for the thicker roux.
This same gravy can be made without milk for a more toasty brown color.
It can have a wonderful product called Kitchen Bouquet used in it to make it dark.
You can use the milk but at the end add sour cream and some dill seed and weed for a dill sauce for schnitzel.
If you use clarified butter or gee instead of oil it is to die for.
You can just use the roux in a pot of beef stew or soup to give it wonderful hardy flavor.
And thank you everyone for your kind words.:)

Worth

Well done Worth!

Wow this is getting so many kudos and I can't see the pics on this thread. It gives me a jpg number instead. I'm drooling all over, you're killin me! Fix this computer !!!

- Lisa

Old chef, thanks for the Wondra flour tip. I haven't seen in in ages. I'll be on the lookout.