Honesty Please! Does everyone make their gravy from scratch and are there any easy (cheating) shortcuts?

[Rainbunny]

I love to cook, and a roast dinner is definitely one of my favorite dishes. I have an awful confession though, for some reason I have never actually made gravy from scratch and I want to do it properly for this weekend's roast. Do I really need one of those fat separator things? I'm hoping that this will be something that looks hard but is actually easy to make.

Bet you're regretting asking now OP? All this talk of de-fatters,soy sauce and jus Good luck with the next gravy making years and get someone to share them with you.Life really is too short. Mx.

Get a hand blender and some flour. Throw flour in the roast juices while stirring until thick.

Not as easy as it sounds since you have to let it thicken, and it's usually trial and error. But, that's how we do it. and by we I mean DH, I can't cook

Nope, Bisto onion gravy all the time. Putting the juices in just gives you the runs

Lots of great gravy advice here.

My top tip, a stick blender will get rid of the lumps in your gravy.

Gravy is easy. Here is simple plain-old basic gravy. This takes about 5 minutes and costs nearly nothing.

Take the pan in which the meat was roasted, and skim off any obvious fat, leaving a couple of table spoons behind. Add about 4 tablespoons of plain flour, wheat flour. Use a whisk to mix the flour and fat together. Add a stock cube that matches the meat of your roast (chicken, beef, lamb, etc.)

Set the roasting pan on the hob over a medium heat. Stir the roux so that the all the meat drippings, scrapping and fat are well blended together and the flour has a chance to brown.

Start to add water bit by bit as you stir. As the mixture thickens add a bit more water. Keep going till you have about an inch of gravy in the pan. I use water from the vegetables that I am boiling. Some people use potato water, but I think the veggie water adds more flavour and vitamins.

Taste the gravy to see if you need to add any additional salt and pepper.

I use the fat from the roast mixed with plain flour to make a roux. Then add a couple of oxo. Then I will use the water from the steamer and if more is needed from the kettle.

Add the water slowly till the desired thickness then add gravy browning.

Cocolpew

Putting the juices in will not "give you the runs." Just make sure the gravy is bubbling away. I thinking leaving in too much fat might give some people "the runs" who aren't used to rich food, though.

Yup op tons - mainly use 4 teaspoons of bisto. Works every time. I get lovely comments on it. All kids eat it.

Fuck about with gravy if you like but seriously Bisto is better!

Snap!

PiperISTerrysChocolateOrange You put it much more succinctly though.

That maggi stuff is great if your gravy isn't quite savoury enough.

I just take the meat out of the tin and put it on the gas and pour in some veg water and some cornflour mixed with water and leave it to bubble away until we are ready to sit down. I've never even heard of a fat separator.

For xmas I make it from scratch, he roux with flour and the fat.

For every day roasts I use bisto stock cubes and add juice from the meat and granules. Makes it nice enough for every day use.

I remember going to a friends and her gravy was a cloudy white colour.. I often put some granules in my home made gravy to give it some colour because I didn't know you could put gravy colouring.

I am not a fan of corn flour based gravies (this includes Bisto.) Somehow they seem too shiny, and the texture just isn't right for me.

buy*

I do what Toomany does, except I use a wooden spoon rather than a whisk. You just have to add the liquid slowly, stirring like mad, or the flour will go lumpy.

Adding a dessert spoonful of caramelised onion chutney is good too!

If you put some onions in with your meat they caramelise and colour your gravy. Perfectionists can sieve their gravy to fish these out. I am a lazy bastid with no time for washing sieves so we just eat them with the rest of the meal.

Otherwise I do it exactly the same way as toomany.

Delia Smith will walk you through it if you google her.

I used to use a wooden spoon, but my success rate has soared since I switched to a whisk!

I agree with all the comments about onions in the pan, etc. It's lovely to roast a joint on top of onions, celery, carrots etc.

And, if you roast your meat in one of these enamel roasters the grooves on the bottom give added friction and really help mix the far and flour.

I always roast my meat on top of a chopped up potato, couple of carrots, couple of cloves of garlic, onions and celery. When the meat is done set it to one side, scoop out any excess fat except for a tablespoonful full, use that for the roux to start your gravy! Then tip the rest of the juices in to the pan with the roux, add a glug of wine and some stock and get it simmering. Place the veg from the roasting pan in to a sieve and smush it through so you have a puree of delicious roasted/caramelised veg then use the puree to thicken your gravy instead of adding more flour.

I do think a splash of soy sauce can be good for gravy! It can really enhance the flavour thanks to all the msg! It's a nice alternative to gravy browning.

My homemade gravy is the best kept secret ever .
I'll pass it on to my kids like my Nana did with me .
Bought gravy is full of salt and crap . No way I'd eat it .
Happy to sound smug and superior -the only thing going for me is my gravy .

What's wrong with salt ?