5-Minute Velouté Sauce Recipe (How to Make Gravy without Drippings) (2024)

FAQs

How to make gravy not so thick? ›

The longer you simmer gravy, the thicker it will become, and it's easy to end up with a thick, gloppy gravy. The fix here is super simple: whisk in a little more broth or water until it's thinned to the desired consistency.

You don't need a meat broth to make gravy. You can use water, milk, or cream to make a gravy. Brown flour in hot drippings or other fat, then slowly add the liquid while stirring. Cook until the consistency you want is reached.

(You can also start with a slurry of flour and water—equal amounts flour and cold water whisked together—if you want.) Whisk the gravy while slowly adding liquid: Slowly add stock, water, milk, cream, or a combination to the pan, whisking vigorously to dissolve the flour into liquid.

It depends on the technique you are using. If you have a liquid that you would like to thicken into gravy (say from a pot roast), I would heat it, then add a water/cornstarch goop to it while stirring. If you have some fat like melted butter in a pan that you want to add starch to, then add broth, I would use flour.

It is possible to thicken gravy without flour or cornstarch, and it's as simple as keeping it on the heat. When gravy is left to simmer or reduce, it naturally thickens, so be patient with your gravy. One downside to reducing gravy, though, is that it can become too salty.

Use two tablespoons flour mixed with ¼ cup cold water for each cup of medium-thick sauce. Thoroughly mix in the water to prevent lumps. After stirring the combined flour and water into the sauce, cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Heat one minute more to cook the flour thoroughly.

Melt butter in a medium-sized sauce pan. Add flour and whisk constantly until mixture is golden caramel color and smells fragrant (3-5 minutes). Slowly whisk in liquids, while whisking, until mixture is smooth. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened and bubbly, 5 minutes or longer.

In a small bowl whisk together cold water and corn starch until dissolved. Pour into boiling beef broth and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

White Wine, Apple Juice, or Water: When you need just a little bit of chicken broth to deglaze a pan for a gravy or pan sauce, broth substitutes are easy: White wine works (and is also a flavor enhancer).

What happens if you put too much flour in gravy? ›

Gravy gets a jelly-like texture due to too much thickener. Too much flour, for instance, can result in a gummy consistency (particularly when left overnight in the fridge). Reheating with additional liquid can often help soften things up.

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.

It should look like gravy. So if you added too much cornstarch, you can always dilute it. with a little bit more chicken stock or water. If you're thinking it too much, it looks like pudding.

Gravy will taste floury when you've added too much flour to it or the flour has not been cooked enough to fold into the gravy ingredients as a whole. To try to fix this problem, add a little more broth and whisk through while heating gently.

Add Herbs. Try thyme, sage, chopped parsley, a teeny bit of tarragon, and some chives. When using fresh herbs, add them toward the end of cooking. Lemon verbena, lavender, rosemary, basil, and mint for simple syrups.

If your gravy is hot and still too thick, add broth a little at a time to thin it out. Remember to check the seasoning when you're done and adjust if needed.

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.