5 steps to the world's most perfect gravy

1) Lose the fat

The best gravy starts with a well-seasoned roast as the pan drippings form the flavour base. But, before you start preparing gravy, it's important to skim off any fat from the pan drippings so you don't end up with an oily sauce. Remove the roast and any vegies from the pan and set aside, then tilt the pan slightly so the juices all puddle in a corner. Using a large spoon or ladle, gently skim off the lighter-coloured fat layer and discard. Repeat until most of the fatty layer has been removed.

2) Use some flour power

Adding flour to a gravy will make it nice and thick, but don't add it straight into the pan or you may end up with lots of lumps. Combine the flour in a small cup with a little cold water first and stir until it becomes a watery paste before adding to the pan drippings. Always cook gravy after adding the starch, otherwise you end up with raw flour flavour.

3) It pays to deglaze

Deglazing a pan means to add cold liquid into a hot pan (the one in which you have cooked the meat) so you can incorporate the natural juices that have come out during the cooking process. Try adding wine, stock or water to the hot pan and then stir gently with a flat-edged wooden spoon to dislodge bits that have cooked onto the base. This gives the sauce extra flavour, but be careful, you want to stir in the brown bits on the pan bottom, not charred black ones. At this point, you can also add any of the vegetables you have previously removed back into the pan, as well as any fresh herbs. A knob of butter will also enrich the sauce.

4) Prepare to strain

Once the gravy, with the added deglazing liquid and flour, reaches the optimum consistency, strain the mixture into a jug. If you had vegetables and herbs in the pan with the meat, gently press on them in the strainer to extract maximum flavour, but don't add them into the gravy itself.

5) Make it meat-free

Looking for the best vegetarian gravy? You don't have to cook a roast to make delicious gravy. Melt 30g butter in a large saucepan. Add 1 chopped onion, 1 garlic clove and 4 sprigs of fresh thyme and cook until they're browned. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of plain flour and then stir in 1 1/2 cups of vegetable or chicken-flavoured stock. Scrape any of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the sauce thickens. Season to taste and strain into a gravy jug.

 

Source

Taste.com.au — December 2016