Gravy!!!

[Momof3greatgirls]

Hey gang!! I LOVE gravy!!! How do I make it with out the thickeners? I read somewhere you can do it with cream but I cannot get it.

Can any one help?

Thanks
Amy

[not2late]

Re: Gravy!!!

There are a few of ways to make gravy.

1. Cook chopped celery and onion in the liquid until they are very soft. Then puree the veggies in a blender until smooth. Add enough liquid to get to the consistency you want.

2. Heavy cream. Put the liquid into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the liquid by at least half. (Meaning if you start off with 1 cup of liquid, boil it until it is only 1/2 cup). Add about an equal amount of heavy cream. Bring back to the boil and reduce until it is thickened.

3. Butter: This works well with pan gravies---the sauces you make by deglazing a pan after you've cooked a food in it. Cook your meat (for example, pork chops, steak, chicken cutlets, etc.). Remove the excess oil from the pan, but allow the browned bits on the bottom to stay. Add alittle chopped onion or garlic if desired and cook until you can just smell the aroma of the vegetables. Add about 1/4 cup of liquid (water or broth is fine). Bring to a boil. As it boils, stir and scrape the bottom and sides of the pan so that the residue dissolves in the liquid. Remove the pan from the heat. Add 2-3 tablespoons cold butter. Stir the butter into the liquid, allowing it to melt. The sauce should thicken, pour over the meat and serve immediately.

4. Gum thickeners. These include xanthum gum and guar gum. You use them as you would cornstarch. I find them to give the gravies an unpleasant slimy texture, but others aren't as picky as I am and find them quite suitable.

5. Unflavored gelatin: Dissolve the gelatin granules in enough water to soften the granules. Then add to hot liquid. It results in a glossy, thick sauce, more suitable for glazing vegetables like onions, carrots, turnips (in my opinion).