Gravy = 1 part butter + 1 part flour + all the flavor you can stand!
Today I made a crock-pot chicken. Whenever you cook a whole bird or a large cut of beef or pork, there are plenty of juices left over. I try to save these juices for use in soups, stews and gravies.
I removed the bird from the pot and deboned the meat. But all of the juice was still in the pot, I just strained it (so I don’t get large chunks of skin or bone) and did my best to scoop the fat off the top. Using the juices the next day is optimal because the fat solidifies in the refrigerator and is very easy to just scrape off; but who makes turkey the day before Thanksgiving, for instance? So just get creative or ignore the fact that the liquid is nearly half fat, eek.
But that juice is approximately 100% flavor. Amazing, I say. You won’t need chicken broth for chicken soup if you have a cup or so of that goodness. But gravy is not just flavor you see, it is also texture. And the perfect texture, for this house at least is a 1:1 ratio of butter to flour.
2 Tablespoons of each butter and flour will make a meals worth of gravy for a small family. Just melt the 2 T of butter in an omelete pan (or whatever you heat up your spaghetti sauce in) using medium to medium low heat. Once it is melted add your 2 T of flour, and WHISK! This is the base for a white sauce but instead of milk or cream, we’ll add that flavor, the meat juices. Milk does increase the creaminess of the gravy and spices can be added (if your meat wasn’t heavily seasoned), but I tend to just leave it be. Add as much juice as you want to attain the desired consistency, and that you will have to find out for yourself. Jacob likes it quite thick so I’ll only add a cup or so of liquid, but I would say 2 is more normal. This is another kind of food I love because I always have the ingredients on hand.