Oh My Gravy

Last night’s dinner was a simple one of fried pork chops, mashed taters, gravy, cauliflower and rolls. Dessert was just jell-o. There are no real recipes but I would like to discuss gravy a bit.Most people shrivel at the prospect of making gravy. I have even had a friend that was so terrified of making gravy, she would open a can of cream of whatever soup and add about a half can of milk and heat it up and call it gravy. Now that is fine in a pinch or if that is what you want for gravy but you sure are missing something wonderful. A good gravy is better than, well, hmm, any of the 7 deadly sins for me anyway.

Gravy is really quite simple and so I never gave it a lick of thought and people would ask and I would tell em my lick and a promise way of making gravy. They were polite an smiled and said thanks but of course I could see they were not a gonna make gravy.

Then my daughter grew up, got married and immediately moved a fer piece from me, all the way to Hawaii. She had never cooked much of anything when she got married. I made her a little recipe box with some of her favorite things and how to make em. But she called one day a wantin to make gravy, so I tried the lick and promise thing but it did not fly, she wanted exact amounts which I didn’t have. So I went to the kitchen and worked it out. I will include that at the bottom of this post.

The next thing I learned about gravy was people call it different things. For example, in others lingo they will say sausage gravy, well to them that mean making a pound of sausage in gravy. But to me sausage gravy means cream gravy made in sausage drippings. After quite a few years I think I have figured out what they mean to what I mean.

Now I say sausage cream gravy, bacon cream gravy, ham cream gravy, chicken cream gravy, pork chop cream gravy, hamburger cream gravy, and that means the gravy is cooked from the drippings/grease left over from frying up the main ingredients.

Now I say chicken gravy, roast gravy, turkey gravy and that means the gravy made from a bit of butter, flour and the juice leftover from making baked/roasted chicken, roast, turkey or broth of the above.

Now I also say sausage SOS, hamburger SOS, chipped beef SOS, and that is where I make my 1 pound of sausage in gravy.

Then there is white gravy and chocolate gravy. White gravy is made the same as any other cream gravy except you start with either new oil or butter, and you only cook the flour just a minute to take the raw taste off and immediately put in your milk, you want no real color at all. This is the stuff ya usually see at restaurants and is great over chicken fried steak. But it has a more benign flavor whereas if you use meat drippings then you get a lotta flavor from them. However, the white gravy is great for those vegetarians that will drink milk.

Ahh and then there is chocolate gravy. I have already included that recipe in an earlier post so it needs no further discussion.

Then there are sauces which is just a much thinner gravy.

It took a bit but I figured out the recipes. Now I am certainly NOT saying that the way other people say it is wrong, cause I am sure it is quite correct from where they come from. I just want to be clear about what I mean so you know which is the recipe you are looking for. I am also NOT saying that the way other people make their gravy is wrong. Gravy is an individual taste, some people like it thicker and some thinner. I certainly do not want to say that my was is perfect for everyone but it is perfect for me and mine. If you have never made gravy then this is a beginning for ya to learn and then you can always add a bit more liquid if ya like yours a bit thinner.

For sausage, bacon, ham, chicken, pork chop, hamburger cream gravy that is perfect every time and is always consistent.

4 tablespoons grease leftover from frying the meat (meat drippings)
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼-½ teaspoon pepper
2 cups milk, half and half, or one thing I like to do is take a 12 ounce can of evaporated milk and put in a 2 cup measure then fill it up with water t the 2 cup mark

Now before I ever start dinner, I measure out the milk and add the salt and pepper to it and stir it up, I then measure out my flour, and measure another ½ cup water. Now have that all by the stove. I like to turn my stove down on low, then add the flour, and stir it around, if it is not creamy but a bit too dry, add a teaspoon of meat drippings back in till it is creamy. At this point you do not have to stir it continuously just every minute or so, now here is where you need to decide how long to cook it, the longer you cook it and the darker you get it the more intense the flavor, I usually cook mine 3-5 minutes over low heat. Then stir in the seasoned milk stirring continuously, now once you get the milk in you can raise your temperature up to medium high. Cook, stirring continuously until it comes to the bubble. Turn the heat off and continue to stir it till it quits bubbling. Voila you are done.
Note: If after it comes to the bubble, you fell it is too thick then add a bit fo the water one tablespoon at a time until it is the consistency you like, or you can use extra milk if you choose. Also, thickeners such as cornstarch, flour, arrowroot etc do not reach their full thickening power till it comes to a bubble. Now I only use flour an cornstarch as a rule. You can cook flour thickened gravies for a few minutes as long as you stir continuously without anything bad happening, however, with cornstarch, you want to stop as soon as it bubbles, cause cooking it too long will make it break.

For chicken, turkey, or roast gravy, I like to use butter for adding a bit more flavor. You can actually just shake up your flour in a wee bit of broth and pour it in a pot with the other broth and then turn the heat on medium and cook it till it thickens. Again I prefer the butter method. I also like it a bit thinner than cream gravy.

Chicken, Turkey or Roast Gravy

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
¼-½ teaspoon pepper (most restaurants etc call for white pepper in these so it does not have the little flecks in it, I use black pepper cause I don’t care)
*Salt* taste your broth and adjust salt t taste
2 cups broth (or take your roast juices and add water or broth to measure 2 cups)

Melt butter in sauce pan, add flour and stir over medium heat for 1 minute, add broth and increase heat to medium high and cook till bubbles. If too thick then add a bit more broth till it is the consistency you like.
Note: For Giblet gravy, before you start take your cooked liver, gizzard, heart, neck and 1-2 hard boiled eggs (optional) and chop them up, add them to the gravy as soon as you are adding in the broth and then proceed.

For Sausage and Hamburger SOS

1 pound hamburger or sausage
Meat drippings
6 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼-½ teaspoon pepper
3 cups milk, half and half, or evaporated milk as above but to 3 cups

Sauté your meat till it is browned. If it has more than 6 tablespoons drippings, then drain a bit off, add the flour and if it is a bit dry then add a bit more oil in. Cook this over medium heat for just a few minutes, then add in the seasoned milk and increase heat to medium high and cook till thick and bubbly, if ya need to you can add a bit more milk or water to get the consistency you want.

When I make the chipped beef SOS, I use the butter method cause chipped beef comes in a jar. Just dice it up a bit and add it in, but make sure you add NO SALT because it is already quite salty. I also use just the 4 tablespoons of butter and flour with 2 cups milk cause the amount in the jar is not enough to support 3 cups milk. If you try this and it is too salty, then next time, rinse the beef in water before adding it to the gravy.

For white gravy

4 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼-½ teaspoon salt
2 cups milk.

You make it the same as above except in the very beginning you put your oil/butter and flour in clean skillet over low heat, stir it over low heat for only 1 minute, add the seasoned milk and proceed as above.

There ya go, all you ever wanted to know about gravy but didn’t ask for lol.
That is a jumpin off place for ya, then you can alter it to best suit your needs and tastes.

Gravy always reminds me of mama and home and childhood. I have always been a gravy girl. My first solid foods were taters and gravy. My daughter wasn’t always a gravy girl, as a matter of fact can remember going to my aunt’s for dinner when Lulu was 4-6 months old. I took her a jar of baby food bananas which were her favorite. Well my aunt got all over me like white on rice telling me I should be ashamed of myself giving “that baby that jarred mess when ya should be feeding her taters and gravy” yes it was direct quote. So I politely took that baby and sat her in my aunts lap and said “YOU feed that baby some taters and gravy” and she said well all right. She got her a spoonful of taters and sopped em down in the gravy and stuck em in Lulu’s mouth, I took two steps back quickly just in time to miss the tater and gravy spit bomb. Yep she spewed em out of her mouth like Ol’ faithful. Needless to say she ate nanners. I actually did feed her lots of things from the table and only fruit from the jar.

She was grown and pregnant with my first grandbaby when she finally ate gravy. We never ate out a lot but we did like to go to Sonic and get a Chicken finger basket for her and a steak finger basket for me. We always ordered extra gravy on both of them and I got all of it. I dipped my steak and fries in it, yum. So I was sitting there surrounded by my 4 lovely cups of gravy and she was nibbling on a bite of he chicken when out of the blue I was sideswiped, she swooped her chicken over and down in one of my beloved cups of creamy gravy goodness and then she ATE IT. The heifer even had the nerve to say mmmmm that is good, I want mine back. So my days of extra gravy were over, now I have to fight to get my fair share, she loves gravy so much.

Back to my childhood, I loved gravy so much that when mama made it for dinner, she would not only smother my taters in it, she would tear up 2 pieces of bread and put em in a pile and smother them in gravy too.

Also as a child I ca remember my mama singing the song Barbra Allen, it was one of her favorites. Although it was not my favorite, I did like it because it explained how the rose got its thorns. So here are the words to it for ya.
BARBRA ALLEN
VERSE 1
In scarlet town, where I was born
There was a fair maid a dwelling
Made every youth cry well away
An’ her name was Barbra Allen
VERSE 2
All in the merry month of May
When the green buds were a swelling
Sweet William came from the western states
And courted Barbra Allen
VERSE 3
It was all in the month of June
When all things they were blooming
Sweet William on his death-bed lay
For the love of Barbra Allen
VERSE 4
He sent his servant to the town
Where Barbra was a dwelling,
My master is sick and sends for you
If your name be Barbra Allen
VERSE 5
And death is painted on his face
And o’er his heart is stealing
Then hasten away to comfort him
A, lovely Barbra Allen
VERSE 6
So slowly, slowly, she got up
And slowly she came to him
And all she said when she got there,
Young man, I think you’re dying
VERSE 7
O yes, I’m sick I’m very sick
And death is on me dwelling
No better, no better, I never can be
If I can’t have Barbra Allen
VERSE 8
O yes, your sick and very sick
And death is on you dwelling
No better, no better, you never will be
For you can’t have Barbra Allen
VERSE 9
O, don’t you remember in yonder town
When you were at the tavern
You drank a toast to the ladies all around
An’ slighted Barbra Allen
VERSE 10
As she was on her highway home
The birds they kept a singing
They sung so clear they seemed to say
Hard hearted Barbra Allen
VERSE 11
As she was walking over the fields
She heard the death bell knelling
And ever stroke did seem to say,
Hard hearted Barbra Allen
VERSE 12
She looked to the east, she looked to the west
She spied his corpse a coming
Lay down, lay down, that corpse of clay
That I may look upon him
VERSE 13
The more she looked, the more she mourned
Till she fell to the ground a crying
Saying, take me up an’ carry me home
For I am now, a dying
VERSE 14
O mother, o mother, go make my bed
Go make it long an’ narrow
Sweet William died for pure, pure love
And I shall die for sorrow
VERSE 15
O father, o father, go dig my grave
Go dig it long and narrow
Sweet William died for me today
I’ll die for him tomorrow
VERSE 16
She was buried in the old churchyard
And he was buried, beside her
From William’s heart, grew a red red rose
From Barbra’s grew a green brier
VERSE 17
They grew and grew, and they grew and grew
Till they could grow no higher
And the rose went around the briar
The rose went around the briar