The Best Homemade Beef Gravy Recipe (How to Make Brown Gravy) (2024)

FAQs

How do I make my gravy more brown? ›

To make dark brown beef gravy, cook the roux even longer (but at a lower temperature) until it's a dark color with a nutty aroma. Then use beef broth or beef juices to make your gravy.

Whisking constantly (yes, I am a broken record about this) and using hot broth or stock are the two most important elements for gravy without any lumps! Using the tips above and the method below in the recipe, this gravy can easily be adapted to a variety of flavors: chicken, turkey, or beef.

What is the difference between brown gravy and beef gravy? A brown gravy comes from any brown stock, whereas beef gravy always comes from beef stock specifically. In other words, all beef gravy is a brown gravy but not all brown gravy is beef gravy.

Soft, fragrant, sautéed vegetables lend a sweet, earthy, warm flavor to your store-bought gravy. Use any combination of onions, leeks, shallots, celery, carrots, and mushrooms cooked in butter, olive oil, or pan drippings. When the veggies are sufficiently sautéed, stir in your jarred gravy and simmer on low.

the traditional method for darkening broth, stock, gravy, and bouillon was to use burnt sugar. Just a little bit will do, depending on how large of a batch you are making. Heat sugar and 1 Tablespoon water over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved.

Add a roux, ideally a dark roux, to your gravy. This is a standard French and Cajun (which is French-rooted) technique for giving color and body to sauces. Roux's are essentially butter or oil and flour, heated gently and stirred occasionally to cook the flour so that it darkens in color, but doesn't burn.

If your gravy is on the skimpy side, you can thicken it quickly with flour or cornstarch. But don't add your thickener directly to the gravy, which will create lumps. Instead, try stirring in three or four tablespoons of flour or cornstarch into a small amount of cold water until you have a smooth paste.

Ingredients. MODIFIED CORN STARCH, WHEAT FLOUR, HYDROLYZED SOY AND CORN PROTEIN, CORN STARCH, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, PALM OIL, SALT, CARAMEL COLOR, YEAST EXTRACT, ONION POWDER, SUGAR, NATURAL FLAVOR, GARLIC POWDER, MALTODEXTRIN, SPICES, MONOGLYCERIDES, CHICKEN FAT, BEEF FAT, DISODIUM INOSINATE AND DISODIUM GUANYLATE.

Made from caramel, molasses and spices, gravy browning is used for giving gravies in England an appetising brown colour. It comes as a dark-brown liquid or powder. It was popular in the first half of the twentieth century, but is not widely used nowadays. Do not confuse gravy browning with gravy powder.

Browning adds more flavor to the gravy and gets rid of the raw flour taste. You're basically making a roux. We find that a flour-based gravy holds up better and reheats better later, which is why we tend to prefer using flour over cornstarch to make gravy unless we have a guest who is eating gluten-free.

What makes gravy more tasty? ›

Add an umami-rich condiment.

Just as you might add condiments like soy sauce, miso paste, Worcestershire sauce, or even a splash of sherry or cider vinegar to your favorite gravy recipe, incorporate them into store-bought gravy for a more complex flavor.

Two popular brands are Kitchen Bouquet and Gravy Master. If you can't locate browning sauce, you can make your own at home (more on how to do that in a minute!). You can also substitute store-bought gravy powder, make a dark roux or substitute other dark-colored liquids like Worcestershire, molasses or soy sauce.

The color of the finished roux will determine the color of the gravy. To make a roux, cook the flour in oil, butter or pan drippings. Heat the roux long enough for the color to deepen a little darker than the desired color of the gravy. Darker roux produces a deeper, richer flavor.

If your gravy is on the skimpy side, you can thicken it quickly with flour or cornstarch. But don't add your thickener directly to the gravy, which will create lumps. Instead, try stirring in three or four tablespoons of flour or cornstarch into a small amount of cold water until you have a smooth paste.