Gravy!

[Merp]

Guys & Gals,

What are your gravy secrets? I quite often use my slowcooker and am left with amazing smelling stock after 8 hours! What is the best way to convert this into lavely gravy? Whether it be lamb or beef.

Without the obvious granuals?

[sherman]

Put the stock in a pan and bring to a simmer. Then depending on if you want to keep the gravy clear or cloudy add cornflour(cloudy) or arrowroot (clear) until the sauce thickens and that is all you need.

[Jer_1974]

I use the meat fat and flour and make a roux (SP) then add the stock while over the heat. I have used veg oil and flour before with very lean meat.

[pugwash4x4]

cook a couple of wooden sppon fulls of four down in the meat pan- usually the meat is cooked on a bed of veg- lots of onions and carrots.

Cook out the flour for a few minutes, then add a good splash of red wine to de-glaze the pan and remove the cooke flour. Then add to a different pan, start to add hot stock, and a teaspoon of Cross&Blackwell gravy browning if the gravy isn't dark enough. Boil vigorously for 5-10 minutes stirring all the time to properly cook the flour- ime this is the bit that most people leave off. Add a shed load of seasoning. Sometimes add a couple of other flavourings- found that horseradish works well, as does cranberry sauce, but for me mint doesn't work well.

If i'm short of time i will make up a smooth mix of flour water and gravy browing, and then tip that into the roasting tray to deglze the juices, and then pour that into a pan and boil, and add stock later.

Oh and seive at the end to remove any lumps etc.

Usually end up with gravy thick enough and tasty enough to make its own meal

(oh yeah make sure you pour back the juices from the resting meat to really finish off the gravy).

[Lefty]

Flour or arrowroot (as already sugegsted) I like to use a little sherry (Oloroso or PX) to deglaze the roasting pan for some sweet spicyness...

Absolutely no need for gravy granules - gelatinous muck

[escargot]

This is the gravy recipe I knocked together for the rib of beef we had on monday:

Whilst the meat is resting, stick the roasting pan on to a hob and chuck in one or two table spoons of flour.

Stir the flour vigorously until it absorbs all the fat and starts to come together as a roux. Cook this for a couple of minutes.

Slowly add the stock and whisk the roux to mix the two with no lumps. Bring to the boil for a couple of minutes then strain everything through a sieve.

Thinly slice some onions and fry off in some butter.

Add the gravy to pan with the onions and stir in a teaspoon or two of wholegrain mustard.

Season to taste.

[Pete Franklin]

alternatively you could just reduce the stock down until it is the right consistancy. you end up with less but the flavour would be much more intense. would make it a jus rather than a gravy though.

[Roger645]

My weekend gravy was cook chicken on bed of carrots and onions, remove chicken to rest, remove some of the fat from roasting tin. Add reduced chicken stock, a few pre-prepared discs of roux, splash of white wine. Push it round with a whisk whilst on the hob on a low heat and let the flour "cook out". Sieve & serve.

For beef I do similar but use some "ice cubes" of red-wine reduction instead of the white wine.

[Mark Benson]

I pour off the fat and juices in the bottom of the pan into one of these;
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/5034/Gravy-Skimmer
Then just add flour to the roasting pan, stir until thickened, add red wine or sherry and stock (or just stock) plus the juices from the meat and transfer the lot into a small saucepan to sit on a low hob to cook the flour and thicken while the meat rests.

I usually find there's enough fat coating the pan after I've poured off the excess to make a decent roux, and the skimmer means I can return all the juices back into the gravy without it being too fatty.