Gravy is a popular topping for meat and vegetables.
Gravy comes in a variety of flavors and thicknesses and falls into the group of foods that people generally love or hate. It can be a simple, peasant-type mixture with only two or three ingredients or flavored with a range of herbs, spices, meats and vegetables.
Gravy Definition
Gravy is often confused with sauce but the two terms are not interchangeable. Gravy is made from meat juices, typically thickened with flour, cornstarch or other congealing agents and mixed with water, broth, milk or wine. Thin gravies may contain only pan juices deglazed with liquid. Sauces are made with the same technique but start with butter, lard, shortening or oil instead of meat juices.
Topping Gravies
Meats and vegetables, especially potatoes, are frequently topped with gravy. Beef, poultry and pork are often served with gravies made from the juices and drippings that accumulate in the pan during roasting, braising or frying. Beef gravy is flavored with beef broth or wine, poultry gravies commonly include chicken broth along with cream or milk and pork gravy can be milk-based or made with wine or chicken broth. A unique Southern gravy called red eye is made by frying country ham in a skillet and deglazing the pan with hot, black coffee. Some versions are thickened and have milk added to cut the saltiness of the ham juices. What most American call pasta or spaghetti sauce is called gravy in Italian cooking.
Meal Gravies
Gravies enhanced with meats and vegetables are served as breakfast, lunch or dinner entrees. Hamburger or sausage gravy is made from the drippings of seasoned and browned ground meat and served with the meat over rice, pasta or biscuits. Thinly sliced, pressed, dried and salted beef called chipped beef is turned into a meal by saut ing it and making a milk gravy from the juices. It is traditionally served on toast points. Leftover chicken can be transformed into a main dish by mixing it with the gravy served with the original meal along with a mixture of cubed vegetables. Italian gravy becomes an entr e with added meat and vegetables and is conventionally served over pasta.
Hints and Tips
Although many cooks find making gravy challenging, it is simple if a few steps are followed. Drain off all but a few tablespoons of drippings and slowly whisk in the thickening agent over medium low heat until the mixture, called roux, is thick but not dry. Cook for a few minutes to eliminate the flour taste. If you want a light-colored gravy, remove it from the heat before it starts to brown. For dark-colored gravies, cook the roux to a light to medium brown. Heat the preferred liquid and slowly add it to the roux over medium heat and cook to the desired consistency. To thicken gravy, reduce it over medium high heat. To thin gravy, add liquids in small amounts and stir.
Tags: made from, over medium, served with, along with, chicken broth