Can You Use the Juices From Cooked Beef to Make Ravy How Lo G Will It Keep

Clockwise from bottom left: Maryland Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy; thickening gravy with a roux; Rich and Silky Turkey Gravy

See how easy it is to make pan gravy on your stovetop.

Once you have the juices from the roast, you need to thicken them. There are several ways to do so, including adding flour to make a roux or a beurre manie, and using cornstarch or arrowroot to make a slurry. Here we'll go over the different options.

Thickening with a Roux

The typical approach for thickening gravy is to make a roux, which is a mixture of equal parts flour and fat, cooked for a minute or two until toasty. One way to make a roux is to leave a few tablespoons of fat (about 1 tablespoon per 2 servings) in the roasting pan and add an equal amount of flour. Cook the roux over moderate heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning and to keep it from forming lumps. When the roux smells toasty and turns beige, deglaze the pan by adding the juices from the roast in increments, whisking all the while to prevent the formation of lumps. If your roast didn't produce a lot of juices, you'll need to supplement with water or stock to make up the difference. Note that in this case, you don't deglaze the pan until after you thicken. It's important to combine the flour and fat alone before adding the liquid back in, because otherwise the flour and juice will combine to form a lumpy mess, which is definitely not what you want in gravy.

You can also make a roux in a separate saucepan and then gradually whisk in the deglazed juices from the roast, along with additional stock or water if necessary. And, if you don't want to use the fat you reserved (perhaps it's too greasy or there wasn't enough), you can use either of these approaches to make a roux using all or part butter—just stick to the same formula, using an equal amount of flour and fat, and cook the roux until beige and toasty before gradually whisking in the juices.

Thickening with a Beurre Manie

Instead of making a roux, you can thicken gravy with a beurre manie, which, despite its fancy French name, is nothing more than a paste made with flour and butter. You won't use the fat you separated from your roast's juices (discard it or reserve it for another use), but the beurre manie approach is a little easier than making a roux. It can be made ahead and offers you more control over the thickness of your gravy, because you can add it slowly in increments. To make a beurre manie, combine equal parts butter and flour and use the back of a fork to work them into a smooth paste, then gradually whisk the paste, about 1 teaspoon as a time, into the already deglazed gravy base simmering on the stove. Continue whisking until the gravy is thick. You can make a beurre manie a day ahead and keep it in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Flour Alternatives

In lieu of flour, gravy can be thickened with other starches, such as cornstarch or arrowroot, which create gravy that's glossier and more transparent than flour-thickened versions. To use cornstarch or arrowroot, mix them with an equal amount of cold water and whisk this mixture (it's called a "slurry") slowly into the hot deglazed juices. Make sure the juices are at a boil, or you won't be able to judge the thickening power of the slurry. If you add the slurry all at once and the jus is too thick, the only remedy is to dilute the jus, weakening its flavor.

Cream can also be used to give body and thickness to gravy, and is especially good with white meats such as turkey or pork. For the most part, cream isn't used to make gravy for lamb, beef, or other red meats. The best approach for cream gravy is to prepare a jus and then add cream to it. Boil down the cream–jus mixture until it has the consistency you like.

You can also thicken gravy with vegetables from the roasting pan. Purée the vegetables with a little broth or water, whisk the purée into the gravy to thicken it, and then strain it before serving.

Some cooks add butter to thicken or add body, while others may even whisk in a little beurre blanc (a classic French sauce made with wine, vinegar, shallots, and butter), but all this butter tends to make gravy very rich, so if you choose to add butter, use a light hand. When thickening gravy, keep in mind that you can combine techniques by, for example, first thickening a little with roux and then finishing with puréed vegetables and/or with cream.

Too Thick or Too Thin

Gravy should have a smooth, unctuous consistency, but shouldn't be too thick. If you find it too thick, simply thin it with broth or water—water, of course, will dilute the flavor a bit. If gravy is too thin, gently boil it down to thicken and reduce it. Or, you can add more of your chosen thickener, gradually combining it with the gravy until you reach the desired thickness.

No More Lumpy Gravy!

What about the lumps? Lumpy gravy inspires the worst nightmares of many a novice cook. This is silly, since if the gravy is lumpy, you can just strain it. But to avoid the lumps in the first place, you'll have to be careful with any thickener you use. If, for example, you cook flour in a roux and start to add juices, you'll immediately see it start to thicken. As this happens, continue to add juices, a small amount at a time, whisking constantly so that you can work out the lumps. The trick is to add liquid at just the right rate—too slowly, and the flour will grip up into a thick, almost solid mass; add them too quickly, and the flour will be lumpy.

Some cooks find using a finely ground flour (also called instant- or gravy-flour), such as Wondra, helps prevent lumps. Also, thickeners other than flour, such as cornstarch and arrowroot, are less problematic and usually smooth out as you stir them. But this all sounds much harder than it is. Remember: The worst that can happen is that you have to strain your gravy.

Finishing Your Gravy

Making gravy is about highlighting the juices from a roast. Your job is to capture those juices and enhance them, but you don't need to go crazy adding additional ingredients—let the juices speak for themselves. Once the gravy is expertly thickened, there's very little more to do beyond seasoning with salt and pepper and pulling out the gravy boat. (If you used a canned broth, be cautious adding additional salt.) Chopped parsley or chervil, added at the last minute, is a welcome addition to almost any gravy.

Photos: Clockwise from bottom left: Romulo Yanes (2); Christopher Testani

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Source: https://www.epicurious.com/archive/howtocook/primers/gravy-how-to-thicken

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