Do any of you add other things to a jug of bisto?

[Indecisivejo]

I love gravy but my other half doesn't like bisto, he likes proper home made gravy with stock and peppercorns etc but I haven't got time to faff for evening meals I just want to add hot water to bisto lol. Is there anything I could add to give it a twist? Maybe Tom purée or Worcestershire sauce etc??

AnyoneButAndre You've got me banged to rights! Yes, it takes more than a minute, but I chop an onion in less than a minute, bung it in a saucepan with some oil and just leave it sweating. Then the rest of the process really takes very little time.

Growing up we were a gravy family, my DM's gravy was divine and she used to make buckets of it because we weren't a small family. I suppose I've just carried that on and my DCs plates are swimming in gravy with a roast, they love my gravy and tell me it's the best ever. Bless 'em.

I don't like gravy but I have no idea how to make it other than hot water and granules
I thought that was gravy
My mum used to do something with meat juices and a powder and I never liked that either
All gravy is grim

i love bisto and my inlaws are a bit snobby about it. but when they come over for a roast they always ask for more gravy . they don't know it's bisto!

i use a bit of boiling water to scrape drippings from the pan and if there's scope for a bit of caramelised onion all the better. then add the bisto. guests see you stirring the roasting pan madly and assume incorrectly that the gravy is made from scratch.

oh i'm talking about bisto powder, not the granules.

I tried Bisto a couple of times, but it was really nasty, and proper gravy is easy, so I stuck to making proper gravy. There's virtually always either meat juices or else bits stuck to the bottom of the pan ready to be deglazed. If not, (or for vegetarians) I make onion gravy and count it as part of the veg for the meal.

As a vegetarian I love bisto (or any other kind of gravy granules), it tastes perfectly nice to me but inspired by this thread I am going to try adding some sweet chilli sauce or onion chutney next time .

Well confessed Rousette, you're forgiven. It hit a nerve because my personal bugbear is "cook from scratch" snobs who imply that anyone who ever uses a pasta sauce jar is an idiot because "it takes less time to chop an onion and cook it up with a tin of tomatoes than it does to open a jar of Dolmio" - when what that would give you is essentially raw crunchy onions and tomatoes that taste mostly of the tin.

Lol at Bisto snobbery.
Quite.
Not the powdered bisto of my childhood (still tasted great!) but the granules of today.
I'll add meat juices on a Sunday but simply cba if it's a weekday.
Some people have way too much time on their hands.
Either that or they're lying.
Gravy snobbery. Who knew?!

Melt some butter into the hot water, then add the bisto (which you have mixed with a little cold water first). It taste just like home made gravy without the faff.

No probs AnyonebutAndre, I'm a lazy arse at the best of times! Just love me gravy

For midweek evening meals, we find bisto best in the glass jars a perfectly acceptable alternative to faffing about making proper gravy. When I've just got home after being in the car for nearly 2 hours on the back of a stressful work day, the thought of nursing a pan of gravy on the hob makes me want to weep.

Gravy snobbery be damned!

Quick easy gravy:
Three oxo cubes to one pint of hot water(boil about thirty min's before you need or add a little cold to boiling water)
Add meat juices if doing a roast and stir with a fork.
Mix four heaped tea spoons of cornflour with a little cold water so it forms a thick paste.
Add to the gravy stirring rapidly.
Put in microwave for 2-3 min's. Stirring after each minute. Gravy is ready once it has started to bubble.
This makes lovely gravy and takes about five minutes. Add more or less cornflour to thicken to taste.

Or take the roast out of the tin, add a big spoonful of flour (and a stock cube if you aren't using fresh stock) stir over the hob until it is all mixed together, add wine/water/stock/other flavourings, stir for a minute until thick and glossy and pour into a jug.

So for the 'gravy from scratch' folks, how would you make a vegetarian gravy? I know how to do a traditional gravy by deglazing the meat pan with the veg water and adding gravy browning/flour/original bistro powder. However my DH is veggie, I've never cooked him a toast but I'd like to do one for Christmas - no idea how to make the gravy other than vegetarian bistro granules..?!

bisto FFS, not bistro powder!

Bol - I would do a caramelised onion and red wine gravy for a vegetarian

I wouldn't bother my bum adding anything to bistro as it's got a strong taste of it's own.

When I make gravy from meat juices I add all sorts from balsamic to cranberry sauce depending on the meat. Haven't made it fir yonks though as one DS is Pescatarian (sp?) so obviously doesn't want meat juice with him dinner!!

Ooh timely post. Do tell more Artandco

Sounds a bit naff but I often stir in a dollop of tomato ketchup - it just adds a bit of tang and sweetness. Especially good if you're doing sausages..

Moln - I make the recipe up, but it's roughly

1. butter in pan, add sliced red onions and soften. 5-10 ish minutes. Add a little water if too dry
2. add tablespoon of flour and sprinkle of brown sugar
3. add some veg stock gradually stirring so no lumps ( about 300ml at guess)
4. add red wine ( 1/2 small glass)
5. reduce whole lot until the thickeness you like

There's probably more accurate recipes online though!

Standard Bisto granules are vile but I do like Bisto Best, it's more expensive but much nicer and more authentic. I used to love the Colmans gravy paste in a tube but they discontinued it ??????

A good glug of marsala

I'm normally a cook from scratch food snob, but gravy is my achilles heel, Marsala-ified extra thick bisto is lush over toad in the hole