What does great gravy really take? Discover the advanced techniques that turn a simple sauce into a culinary masterpiece!
Gravy has long transcended its humble origins as pan drippings and thickener. To the experienced cook, it’s a complex medium—equal parts science and intuition, restraint and indulgence. While many grew up on powdery substitutes or jarred versions, true gravy remains one of the most dynamic expressions of sauce-making in Western cuisine.
At its heart, gravy is a reduction: an alchemical distillation of roasted meat’s essence, balanced with aromatics, fortified stocks, and deepened with umami-laden enhancements. A well-executed gravy doesn’t just accompany a dish—it anchors it. It binds components, elevates texture, and enhances flavor in ways that even the finest seasoning cannot.
This is not about shortcuts. There will be no bouillon cubes or cornstarch thickeners here. We’ll build our flavor from roasted bones, deglazed fond, and layered aromatics. We’ll temper roux until it’s just shy of nutty, mount with chilled butter for a silken finish, and balance acidity to cut through richness.
While variations like cream gravy, mushroom gravy, or even chocolate-infused sauces each play their role, our focus will stay grounded in the classical method—crafted with deliberation, bolstered by technique, and tuned by taste.
Ingredients
- Drippings of some roast meat
- 2 cups / 500ml Water
- 2 tablespoons / 30g Butter / Cooking oil
- 4 tablespoons / 30g Plain white flour
- Salt, pepper to taste if necessary but if the meat was seasoned properly, it generally isn’t necessary.
How to make Gravy
- Filter roast meat drippings through the sieve to remove bits of things if desired, then mix it with water.
- Melt butter or use any cooking oil then mix in the flour until a uniform texture with no lumps and white specks is achieved. If it gets a slight golden brown color, it’s even better, that is roux, remove from heat and let it cool a bit, about 5 minutes.
- Pour in the dissolved bouillon cubes, stock or roast meat dripping.
- Put it back on the heat and stir or better whisk until a lump free uniform, thick texture is achieved. Adding more water will thin the sauce which may be required especially when reheated as the sauce thickens as water evaporates and cools off.
Enjoy!
Star this recipe!
Gravy Recipe – Advanced
Ingredients
- ½ cup Drippings of some roast meat
- 2 cups Water
- 2 tablespoons Butter or Cooking oil
- 4 tablespoons Plain white flour
- Salt pepper to taste if necessary but if the meat was seasoned properly, it generally isn’t necessary
Instructions
- Filter roast meat drippings through the sieve to remove bits of things if desired then mix it with water.
- Melt butter or use any cooking oil then mix in the flour until a uniform texture with no lumps and white specks is achieved. If it gets a slight golden brown color, it’s even better, that is roux, remove from heat and let it cool a bit, about 5 minutes.
- Pour in the dissolved bouillon cubes, stock or roast meat dripping.
- Put it back on the heat and stir or better whisk until a lump free uniform, thick texture is achieved. Adding more water will thin the sauce which may be required especially when reheated as the sauce thickens as water evaporates and cools off.
Tasty!