In general, I make meat gravy using the stock of the meat that I am cooking and using the water from any vegetables I am serving with a meal. While this is delicious, I want to try some new flavours. Any ideas? So far I have made an orange gravy for a roast duck, onion gravy with beef and a mint gravy for a leg of lamb. What different types of gravy do you make that you could recommend?
kgord
Veteran
I don't know, I can't really help you there. I don't have gravy very often. My best suggestion would be to google various gravy recipes until you find one that you like. Over here, sometimes people make a white gravy to put on items like Chicken Fried Steak, but I have never tried to make it. I am not a big fan of it. Also, I think they might use a type of white gravy for Creamed Chipped Beef on toast.
aquaticneko
Veteran
You could try roasting your meat of choice then using the drippings added to a roux (equal parts butter and flour cooked) then add cream (or dairy of your choice) Makes a simply cream gravy. If you start with the roux you can change things up adding herbs. If you are looking for variation in sauces, it really would depend on the meat. Like skirt steak beef is nice with a black and pink peppercorn cream gravy with mushrooms! Or if you want something lighter you can have a peppersteak sandwich with a light Au jus.
-your traditional herb mixture like rosemary, thyme, sage makes them a touch more exciting. Though it depends on the meat
-Adding lemon zest, capers, olive oil to the gravy makes it a touch meditteranean
-For italian you can add sausage sweet peppers and parsley to some simply gravy
-caramelized onions, steak sauce, blue cheese makes a super rich sauce for steak
-for a tropical touch, adding crunchy cashews, mangoes/pineapples and chili garlic sauce makes a great sauce for chicken or fish
For a chinese touch you can usually buy some oyster sauce and mix it in some chicken stock after a stirfry. Use the cornstarch slurry after your sauce has been reduced a bit and you have some great gravy. Even better if you add escallions and garlic
These are some I can think of right now.
-your traditional herb mixture like rosemary, thyme, sage makes them a touch more exciting. Though it depends on the meat
-Adding lemon zest, capers, olive oil to the gravy makes it a touch meditteranean
-For italian you can add sausage sweet peppers and parsley to some simply gravy
-caramelized onions, steak sauce, blue cheese makes a super rich sauce for steak
-for a tropical touch, adding crunchy cashews, mangoes/pineapples and chili garlic sauce makes a great sauce for chicken or fish
For a chinese touch you can usually buy some oyster sauce and mix it in some chicken stock after a stirfry. Use the cornstarch slurry after your sauce has been reduced a bit and you have some great gravy. Even better if you add escallions and garlic
These are some I can think of right now.
Rosyrain
Veteran
Well, I tend to stick to the classic flavors of chicken, turkey, and beef gravy, but I also like to add things to my gravy to make it chunky and hearty. I like to grill some onions and add that to the gravy and serve it over mashed potatoes. I find that it adds just a few more nutrients to dinner when you add some veggies to it. I would not be fond of a sweet gravy as I have always considered gravy to be savory.
Chef00
Veteran
I make gravy a lot grew up with gravy and potatoes. and can make gravy or sauce out of almost anything. I like to saute chicken, remove from the pan; cover and keep warm. Then in the pan I will either add some mushrooms and saute first or not. for the mushroom I will sautéed until liquid is gone and the are browning nicely. Add 1/4 cup white wine (chardonnay) and scrape the pan a bit to get the fond (browned bits) off the bottom. then add about /12 cup of chicken broth/stock, bring to a boil. add thyme to taste, about 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme, 2 sprigs fresh, just let them float in there. once it is reduced by half, add about 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard and whisk it in. at this point you can remove from heat, remove thyme and add chicken back if you like. or just drizzle over chicken to serve. you can do this without the mushrooms also. Just eliminate the mushroom step and start with the wine.
Chef00
Veteran
Pork. tenderloin: roasted, remove meat to rest and add broth to pan and let reduce. you can let reduce to a very small concentrated amount and ad 1 to 2 tablespoons of cream or half and half to make a creamy gravy. season to taste.
Fried: remove from pan. add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour to pan and stir to pick up any liquids left by meat. Stir and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes over medium heat. to cook the rawness from the flour. add about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of milk stirring or whisking constantly. turn heat to medium high. keep this up until it starts to get really thick, then add more milk and keep whisking. continue this until you get the desired thickness you like for gravy. (Tip, add chicken base and seasonings to taste before you serve.)
Fried: remove from pan. add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour to pan and stir to pick up any liquids left by meat. Stir and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes over medium heat. to cook the rawness from the flour. add about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of milk stirring or whisking constantly. turn heat to medium high. keep this up until it starts to get really thick, then add more milk and keep whisking. continue this until you get the desired thickness you like for gravy. (Tip, add chicken base and seasonings to taste before you serve.)
epicuric
Legendary Member
Sounds as though you have got the method spot on, just need to mix up the ingredients. I only tend to make gravy on Sundays, but during the week will make sauces based on the meat juices. Over the winter we tend to eat a lot of game, which lends itself to rich fruity sauces - usually deglaze the meat pan with red wine, add blackcurrants, cherries or other berries, cook down, add stock if required then reduce. Also dried apricots work really well in a venison casserole.