Jess A.'s Gravy
Packet of gravy mix
1 cup hot water
bouillon
cornstarch
black pepper
dried parsley
dried onion
Yeah, man. It all kind of depends on the gravy. Do you want to make
it out of drippings from meat/chicken you have, or what? There's
always those gravy packets (your mom and dad have huge instant gravy
containers).
Anyway, if you want to use the packets:
use 1 packet for flavor, and a cup of hot water with bouillon (either
a cube, or 2 tablespoons of powdered stuff) - or, you can use those
boxes of broth they sell; you also need some corn starch. Actually,
you can make it without mixing gravy/bouillon, but the different
flavors taste a little better mixed together.
Put a sauce pan on the stove, and turn the heat on. Use a low heat.
Start with the dry stuff (just the sauce packet) in a sauce pan
you've just turned on, and slowly start whisking in the water. Your
sauce packet will start to clump up, then turn pasty. It'll get
better when you properly stir in more water.
Don't add in too much water too quickly, since it'll just dilute your
paste and it'll be difficult to take the clumps out. Turn up the heat a
bit to medium, since you'll be adding more water.
When you finished adding in the water with the bouillon, slowly stir
in more water until it gets to about how salty you want it. Then add
in a little black pepper for flavor - be careful not to put too much.
You can put a little dried parsley, or dried onion, if you like that
flavor, but I wouldn't add many herbs since most people like clear
gravy.
After getting it to taste how you want, take a couple tablespoons of
corn starch (never made gravy with flour, sorry) and add just enough
water to make it just a tiny bit watery.
Start boiling your sauce, since corn starch needs to be boiled to
properly lose the powdery taste and thicken fully. When it boils,
start adding in your corn starch liquid. I'd go about a couple
teaspoons at a time, maybe every minute. Stir well. The key here is
to boil it long enough so your corn starch thickens a much as it can
before you add in any more of it.
Keep in mind how thick you like your gravy, and stop adding in corn
starch just before then. It'll thicken even more when it cools down.
Starting off with drippings, you can pretty much do the same thing as
above. Use a sauce packet if you're making a lot, then replace the
boillion water/broth with the drippings. If you're only doing enough
for yourself, just use the drippings, a little water, and enough salt
and pepper to make it taste however you like.
Jessie's Super Duper gravy tip: if you're making chicken or turvey
gravy, shred a little bit of meat and add it to the sauce. It can be
added to about the time you turn up the heat and add more water to
dilute everything. Gives it a real homey look.
Jess
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