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Original poster

How do you make your gravy?

56 replies

garlickypotatoes · 25/12/2022 20:55

Chatting to a friend the other day who said she piles her veg peelings around the meat and then uses the combined juices as the base for her gravy. I usually use meat juices and combine with salted water off the veg. If needed, add some stock, garlic, seasoning, plain flour mixed in water for thickening and a splodge of cream. Others prefer to use gravy granules or bisto or buy ready-made. There's no 'right way'....just whatever works for you!

Just wondering how you make yours?

OP posts:
OwwwMuuuum · 25/12/2022 20:57

Skim the fat off the pan juices. Add a heaped desert spoonful of flour to the pan juices and heat, stirring. Add veg water in gradual slurps, stirring in each time. Add teaspoonful of marmite. Voila

Multipleexclamationmarks · 25/12/2022 20:59

Same as you but no cream, cream never occurred to me! I'm going to give it a go next time.

PositiveLife · 25/12/2022 21:01

Bisto granules - there's only me and Dd2 so it doesn't seem worth the effort to do anything else.

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ThreeB · 25/12/2022 21:01

Sit the meat on top of some onions, carrots and celery and add whatever herbs I have lying around. Pour in some stock (or wine if I have some hanging about) and cook the meat as usual. Once the meat has cooked, I add a little hot water to the tray and bring it back to the boil on the hob, use a little whisk and get all the scrapings off the bottom and then sieve into a pan (so all the veg and herbs don't fall in). Bring back to the boil and add 1tbsp cornflour mixed with 2tbsp of the boiling gravy. Let it thicken and then taste and adjust if needed

Changingmynameyetagain · 25/12/2022 21:02

I make Jamie Oliver’s get ahead gravy for the last few years, it’s lovely, I’ve made a few tweaks so it’s not exactly the same but the family all like it.

Fuwari · 25/12/2022 21:02

A teaspoon of sugar is my secret ingredient. It elevates even bisto and hot water into a much nicer gravy.

Belugabob · 25/12/2022 21:03

Veg water (parsnip, sprout and potato) into a pan that I'd used for mashed potato, 2 chicken stock pots, flour mixed with the Turkey juice, chicken bisto and then a tub of emergency M&S Turkey gravy lobbed in!! It was bloody lovely 😊

Appalonia · 25/12/2022 21:04

ThreeB · 25/12/2022 21:01

Sit the meat on top of some onions, carrots and celery and add whatever herbs I have lying around. Pour in some stock (or wine if I have some hanging about) and cook the meat as usual. Once the meat has cooked, I add a little hot water to the tray and bring it back to the boil on the hob, use a little whisk and get all the scrapings off the bottom and then sieve into a pan (so all the veg and herbs don't fall in). Bring back to the boil and add 1tbsp cornflour mixed with 2tbsp of the boiling gravy. Let it thicken and then taste and adjust if needed

Same but I add a pint of chicken stock, red wine and a teaspoon of cranberry sauce or onion chutney.

SeemsSoUnfair · 25/12/2022 21:05

We had beef, for gravy used meat juices and knorr gravy pot. First time I tried it and preferred the taste compared to bisto - which I also like but it has a very unique everyday bisto taste, the knorr was more gravy iykwim

Original poster
garlickypotatoes · 25/12/2022 21:05

Fuwari · 25/12/2022 21:02

A teaspoon of sugar is my secret ingredient. It elevates even bisto and hot water into a much nicer gravy.

Yes, I do this too! It creates a really nice balance between savoury and sweet.

OP posts:
senua · 25/12/2022 21:07

Took giblets out of turkey. Brined the bird for 12 hours. At same, slow cooked giblets with white wine, thyme and black pepper. Next day, cooked bird.

Combined slow-cooker stock, gubbins from roasting tray and the water that cooked the veg. Thickened with cornflour. Bubbled it for ages. It was delish.

reallyworriedjobhunter · 25/12/2022 21:10

PositiveLife · 25/12/2022 21:01

Bisto granules - there's only me and Dd2 so it doesn't seem worth the effort to do anything else.

This. Four heaped tablespoons and half a pint of boiling water. Everyone always seems to really like it 🤷‍♀️

Ineedachangerightnow · 25/12/2022 21:10

Today I put Flour and meat juices in a pan and cooked them off, then added a stock cube and water and cooked until thickened. It was perfect!

lynthesearesexpeople · 25/12/2022 21:17

Boiling water on bistro granules.

I used to go the whole hog with gravy. Using the juices, christ, putting this that and the other in, all the stirring. Used my own home made stock. Everyone said mine was the best gravy ever, people used to ask me to make it to bring to h th over houses.

Then one day, I couldn’t give a fuck anymore. I realised life is too fucking short for a sauce and started using bisto. That was a decade ago.

NO ONE has noticed. They still say my gravy is the best ever. I still get asked to bring it over.

It’s fucking bisto.

emmathedilemma · 25/12/2022 21:24

Opened tub from M&S, dinged in the microwave, poured over dinner.
move over Deliah ;)

TerfOnATrain · 25/12/2022 21:28

I always do mine in advance for any gravy meal. So the chicken bones and meat juices of today are the stock and gravy base for tomorrow.

doing it this way means you can cool the stock and juices and scrape all the set fat off the top.

EspeciallyD · 25/12/2022 21:32

Jamie Oliver's get ahead gravy (without the star anise), add juices on the day.

TattiePants · 25/12/2022 21:33

Today I opened 4 tubs of Sainsburys’ turkey gravy, poured into a pan and heated.

Ifailed · 25/12/2022 21:37

Bisto is mainly potato starch, palm oil and salt/sugar.
It's shit.

BorgQueen · 25/12/2022 21:39

I used some ready made ‘best’ turkey gravy, meat juices from the beef, veg water and a few gravy granules to thicken. It was amazing. We had beef, gammon and turkey.

gogohmm · 25/12/2022 21:42

Bisto, no complaints

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 25/12/2022 21:43

emmathedilemma · 25/12/2022 21:24

Opened tub from M&S, dinged in the microwave, poured over dinner.
move over Deliah ;)

Same!

motleymop · 25/12/2022 21:43

ThreeB · 25/12/2022 21:01

Sit the meat on top of some onions, carrots and celery and add whatever herbs I have lying around. Pour in some stock (or wine if I have some hanging about) and cook the meat as usual. Once the meat has cooked, I add a little hot water to the tray and bring it back to the boil on the hob, use a little whisk and get all the scrapings off the bottom and then sieve into a pan (so all the veg and herbs don't fall in). Bring back to the boil and add 1tbsp cornflour mixed with 2tbsp of the boiling gravy. Let it thicken and then taste and adjust if needed

This sounds very similar to what my OH does. It's lovely. He puts a dash of cream in too.

DramaAlpaca · 25/12/2022 21:45

I'm a decent cook but I can't make gravy to save my life. Fortunately, DH can and his gravy is legendary. How he does it is a closely guarded secret.

Blueberrycreampie · 25/12/2022 21:45

I was very happy with my gravy today which was made with powder out of a packet. Think it was Schwartz Turkey gravy mix and I'm sure it was a few years out of date! My Bisto Turkey gravy granules didn't get delivered so luckily I found this old packet lurking at the back of a cupboard, and it was really good. I have made the real thing in the past and think I preferred this.