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How to Make Gravy from Scratch
Here are two basic ways of making gravy from roast drippings, one using corn starch, the other using flour. In each case, you start with the roast drippings. You may have much more drippings than you need for the amount of gravy you want to make. You can follow this guideline - for each cup of gravy you would like to make, start with a tablespoon of drippings. So, if you want to make 2 cups of gravy, drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat and drippings from the roasting pan (set aside for future use). These instructions will be for the end result of 2 cups of gravy, but you can easily divide or multiply to adjust for how much gravy you want to make.
1 Remove the roast from the pan. Place pan on stove on medium high heat. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp of the drippings in the pan.
2 Dissolve 2 Tbsp of corn starch in the minimum amount of water needed to make a thin paste - about 1/4 cup. Pour into pan with drippings and use a wire whisk or spatula (as pictured) to blend into the drippings
3 Stir with a wire whisk until the gravy begins to thicken. As it thickens, slowly add water, stock, milk, or cream, or some combination to the pan. Alternate stirring and adding liquid, maintaining the consistency you want, for several minutes (about 5). You will probably add about 2 cups of liquid all together. Taking into consideration the evaporation that is occurring while you are cooking, you will end up with about 2 cups of gravy. Season with salt (we use Vege-Sal).
Making Gravy with Flour
1 Remove the roast from the pan. Place pan on stove on medium high heat. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp of the drippings in the pan.
2 Into the 2 tablespoons of drippings in the pan stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir with a wire whisk until the flour has thickened and the gravy is smooth. Continue to cook slowly to brown the flour, and stir constantly.
3 Slowly add back some of the previously removed drippings (remove some of the fat beforehand if there is a lot of fat). In addition, add either water, milk, stock, or cream to the gravy, enough to make 2 cups. Season the gravy with salt and pepper and herbs.
Method
Making Gravy with Corn Starch1 Remove the roast from the pan. Place pan on stove on medium high heat. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp of the drippings in the pan.
2 Dissolve 2 Tbsp of corn starch in the minimum amount of water needed to make a thin paste - about 1/4 cup. Pour into pan with drippings and use a wire whisk or spatula (as pictured) to blend into the drippings
3 Stir with a wire whisk until the gravy begins to thicken. As it thickens, slowly add water, stock, milk, or cream, or some combination to the pan. Alternate stirring and adding liquid, maintaining the consistency you want, for several minutes (about 5). You will probably add about 2 cups of liquid all together. Taking into consideration the evaporation that is occurring while you are cooking, you will end up with about 2 cups of gravy. Season with salt (we use Vege-Sal).
Making Gravy with Flour
1 Remove the roast from the pan. Place pan on stove on medium high heat. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp of the drippings in the pan.
2 Into the 2 tablespoons of drippings in the pan stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir with a wire whisk until the flour has thickened and the gravy is smooth. Continue to cook slowly to brown the flour, and stir constantly.
3 Slowly add back some of the previously removed drippings (remove some of the fat beforehand if there is a lot of fat). In addition, add either water, milk, stock, or cream to the gravy, enough to make 2 cups. Season the gravy with salt and pepper and herbs.
