Gravy, Gravy, Gravy…oh how I love thee. It is delicious and makes almost everything taste better. I’m going to share a secret with you…my pet peeve is people who don’t make gravy from scratch. It is so, super duper easy and tastes 1000 times better than jarred canned, store bought, or dry packaged gravy. I promise…I’ve got a great gluten and dairy version of traditional white/cream gravy for you. It was one of the first things I mastered when I was diagnosed with my allergies. The techniques are the same for most of the recipes….and I’ve even included a video in case you need more help!
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If you’d like to join the cooking classes challenge, sign up by joining the Cooking 101: The Basics group on Facebook. Over there you can ask questions, post tips and recipe photos, and help each other along the way.
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How the Classes and Challenge Work:
Cooking 101: The Basics is a 16 week class on Wednesdays. I will post a new recipe with tips on getting great results along with pictures. It’s like your own personal online cooking school! Take as long as you need, but once you make the recipe (or a similar version) come back and add your link to the post to share with everyone. No blog…no worries…add your pictures to the Facebook group, we’d all love to see them!
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Grab your aprons and let’s get cooking!
WEEK #3 – GRAVY, GRAVY, GRAVY
I learned how to make gravy in junior high or high school. It only took a couple tries and I had it mastered. When I got married, it was one of the first things I taught hubbyman how to make. It was important to marital happiness. My favorite breakfast is biscuits with cream gravy and bacon. Yeah, yeah…not so healthy, but we only have it once every month or so.
I realize you can make gravy in just about any type of pan, but I’ve had the best results with a good non-stick pan. (Keep reading…there is a giveaway). The other key is to monitor the heat of the stove. I think I change temperatures for my pan three times when I make gravy…don’t worry, it’s not going to be overwhelming. Promise!
Red Eye Gravy
Ham and coffee are the basis for red eye gravy, a Southern favorite. This is not for the faint of heart, but it sure is tasty! The name “red-eye gravy” comes from the fact that a circle or oval of liquid fat with a slightly reddish cast will form on the surface of the gravy when it is reduced.
Cream Gravy
White Gravy, Sawmill, and Country Gravy…they are all the same. And totally hits home with my Southern roots. It’s so easy and I promise you can make it (check out my video below for some awesome tips). It’s perfect over mashed potatoes, chicken fried steak, and of course biscuits. Once you learn this gravy, you can easily make alfredo sauce or a yummy mac & cheese. Yep, this gravy is pretty much the base for each of those.
Sausage Gravy
This is just a fancy version of cream gravy. It’s a cream gravy with bits of breakfast sausage cooked in. Seriously, my mouth is just drooling thinking about it. Sausage gravy is usually served over biscuits.
Brown Gravy
This gravy is the traditional gravy for pot roast, meatloaf, chicken, and turkey. Add some giblets from a turkey or chicken when it’s served and you have the best gravy for Thanksgiving!
Gluten Free/Dairy Free Gravy
Oh yes I did! This is the first thing I mastered when I got my allergy diagnosis. It’s super easy and tastes amazing!
Cooking 101 Basics Week #3 – Gravy, Gravy, Gravy
4 recipes for the perfect pan of gravy (including gluten free and vegan options)!
Ingredients
Red Eye Gravy
- Country ham
- 4 tbls hot black coffee
Directions
- Take a slice of uncooked ham with a lot of the fat left on. Fry the ham, in a large skillet, in its own fat until nicely browned on both sides. When it is cooked, transfer the ham to a platter. Add boiling black coffee to the skillet, scraping to dissolve the particles that cling to the bottom and sides.
- Pour over the ham and serve.
- Note: This gravy can be made from the drippings of pan-fried country ham, bacon, or other pork.
Cream Gravy
- 4 tbls butter (or bacon drippings)
- 4 tbls flour
- 2 cups milk
- salt & pepper
- 1/2-3/4 cup cooked crumbled sausage (if making sausage gravy)
- In a large skillet, melt butter and flour together over medium high heat. Cook flour mixture for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
- Lower heat to low and slowly pour in milk while constantly stirring. Keep stirring and work out any lumps that may have formed. Once lumps are gone, turn heat up to medium high and bring to a slow boil. Gravy will begin to thicken (add sausage if making sausage gravy) and keep stirring for 30 seconds-1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
- Gravy will continue to thicken as it cools.
Brown Gravy
- 2 cups beef or chicken stock (or meat drippings with fat removed)
- 2 tbls cornstarch
- 2 tbls water
- 1/2-3/4 cup cooked chopped giblets (for giblet gravy)
- Add stock to large skillet over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. While stock is coming up to a boil, combine corn starch and water in a small bowl. Mix well to combine and work out any lumps.
- Gently pour corn starch mixture into boiling stock. Stir constantly until gravy starts to thicken. (Add giblets for giblet gravy.) Season with salt and pepper.
- Gravy will continue to thicken as it cools.
Gluten Free/Dairy Free Gravy
- 4 tbls dairy free butter (or bacon drippings if you're not vegan)
- 4 tbls sweet rice flour (other flours will be to gritty)
- 2 cups plain rice or soy milk
- salt & pepper
- In a large skillet, melt "butter" and rice flour together over medium high heat. Cook flour mixture for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
- Lower heat to low and slowly pour in milk while constantly stirring. Keep stirring and work out any lumps that may have formed. Once lumps are gone, turn heat up to medium high and bring to a slow boil. Gravy will begin to thicken (add sausage or soy-based sausage to keep it vegan) if making sausage gravy) and keep stirring for 30 seconds-1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
- Gravy will continue to thicken as it cools.
Leave a comment here or jump on the Facebook group page so we can chat about it.
{Last week: Tools of the Trade Next Week: Brownies}
MY SPONSOR
Please welcome the sponsor this week…Teflon! Teflon brand provides superior nonstick performance on your pots and pans. Pans with Teflon nonstick coating lasts about 7x longer than pans that have ceramic or silicon coatings. Plus they are dishwasher safe. That’s a bonus for me….I won’t buy it if it can’t go in the dishwasher! You so need one of these pans for all the gravy making you’ll be doing!
Disclaimer: Teflon provided me with a set of pans and is providing the winner with a set of pans. All opinions are my own.
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