4 Delicious Gravy Reductions That Start With Quality Meat
There are two types of gravies that are prepared in a commercial kitchen. The first is a powder-based gravy that mixes with hot water for an instant garnish. Depending on the quality of the instant gravy, they can taste good (particularly if the Chef augments it with some custom flavoring).
The second kind of gravy tastes the best. It is the kind that is made from scratch in the kitchen, using authentic, flavorful meat drippings and natural fats, combined with a little cornstarch for thickening and custom seasonings.
Can you tell the difference between a powdered instant gravy mix and an authentic scratch-made gravy, with fresh seasonings? If you are a Chef or cook you definitely can taste the difference; and so, can your restaurant patrons. At Miami Beef® we are fans of the ‘real thing’ and know how easy it is to create delicious scratch gravies to serve with our succulent steaks and chops.
We’d like to share 5 amazing gravies and reductions that you can try in your own restaurant. For au jus to a thick beautiful gravy, in just a few steps using the drippings that you are already creating on reserve in the kitchen.
1. Southern White Gravy
One of the things you may not know unless you have traveled extensively through the American southern states is that brown gravy is very much an east coast and west coast thing. When you ask for gravy in New York, you will be provided with a beef-based dark brown gravy for your meat.
In the American South, however, gravy takes on a whole new consistency, appearance, and flavor. Known as Southern Gravy, or Country Gravy, it is a thicker consistency (similar to pudding) and it is white in color with flecks of black from the cracked pepper it is seasoned with.
Southern white gravy is served on chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and fried chicken strips. In fact, Americans from the deep south love their peppery thick white gravy so much, it is popular breakfast food. You may have heard it called ‘biscuits and gravy’, and it is literally hot English muffin style breakfast bread, with a side order of bacon or sausage, and smothered in the thick white gravy.
Check out this recipe for Southern White Gravy.
2. Smoked Paprika Garlic Gravy
This recipe is for an easy but delicious poultry gravy that can be used on chicken or turkey. The seasonings include smoked red paprika for a rich deep smoky flavor, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and chicken stock.
If you want to make a better-tasting poultry gravy, create your own chicken stock from drippings. Simply take roasted or baked chicken reserve and strain it to remove any large pieces of skin or meat. Next, take that reserve and place it into a saucepot, and add a 30% volume of hot water. Stir the drippings until the stock appears consistent and well blended. You will get a dense and delicious flavor with real poultry drippings than any commercial chicken stock.
Find the recipe for this spicy and interesting gravy here.
3. Spicy or Savory Indian Gravy
If you love Indian foods like chicken curry or tikka masala, you are probably a fan of the delicious Indian gravy. From region to region in India, the recipe for the standard gravy doesn’t really change that much. It includes garlic, ginger paste, coriander, cumin and turmeric, pureed tomatoes, and lots of onion.
Try this recipe for a low fuss but delicious Indian gravy.
4. Beef Burgundy Sauce
Many people believe that the best method of creating a beef burgundy sauce is from standard beef stock. But when you are preparing beef burgundy as a dish, you want to make sure the full flavor of the beef is present in the sauce (not just in the meat) when you serve it.
You can deglaze any roasted beef pan and condense a great Jus into a burgundy sauce, in just a few easy steps. You will need about 1 cup of burgundy wine (typically a Cabernet Sauvignon is used) to complement the beef dish and create a succulent sauce. When adding mushrooms, you want a woodsy full-bodied flavor, so the first choice is portabella mushrooms, or even a combination of portabella and Chanterelle mushrooms, which have a pleasant light pepper tastes that compliments roasted beef and red wine.
We like this version of the Beef Burgundy recipe from The Pioneer Woman.
Tips for Deglazing a Pan
This is one of the tricks you first learn in Chef’s school, which is to take a meat roasting pan and deglaze it to derive all the natural fats and flavors and create a risk au jus or thickened gravy. But how do you know when you should serve meat with a light au jus, versus a thicker consistency gravy instead?
Jus (pronounced zhoo) is the process where the drippings from roasted meat are heated and allowed to condense, often without adding any additional seasonings. During preparation, the intention is to retain the natural flavors of the meat and let the sauce thicken slightly. A jus is still going to be a thinner consistency than a traditional gravy, but the sauce is strained with wire mesh to avoid any bits of cooked meat or roasted skin.
What is Au Jus vs. Gravy?
Gravy, on the other hand, requires some doctoring. First, the jus is removed from the pan, and then it is combined usually with some starch to allow it to thicken over low heat. Red or white wine and other seasonings may be added to augment the flavor; a gravy can be a compliment to the meat being served by tasting slightly different and accentuating rather than blending in with the meat flavors. Some traditional gravies include a large amount of salted butter, which also enhances the flavor and seasoning of the meat.
To create Au Jus, the deglazing method requires only a small amount of hot water. No other kinds of stock are used because the goal is to preserve the original flavor of the meat drippings. When deglazing a pan for a gravy, many Chefs opt to use white or red wine, stirring up the bottom of the pan to loosen fragments of meat that will be included in the gravy. Flour or corn starch is added to thicken the gravy.
