Gravy is the sauce that brings everything together. It’s a must-have for meatloaf and an essential for a roast dinner. So what’s secret to a gravy so good you’ll want to do this?
It’s all in the stock, the stirring and sometimes, a secret ingredient or two. From Margaret Fulton’s turkey gravy (because if anyone knows how to make a classic gravy, it’s going to be Margaret Fulton!) to two versions from Matty Matheson (with a bonus: the secret to getting more crispy skin on your roast chicken), here are some top tips for upping your gravy game.
"Oh my god," says Matheson, after a swig of his dark chicken gravy. Source: SBS VICELAND / It's Suppertime
Bacon gravy is next-level
“Have you guys ever been to meatloaf town? Have you? It's a beautiful place. The homes are made with meat. And the roads are lined with gravy, and the yards are filled with buttery mashed potatoes. The trees, steamed broccoli.” This is Matty Matheson getting excited about meatloaf and gravy in It’s Suppertime (all 24 episodes currently streaming on SBS ON Demand), and the gravy he serves up with his simple meatloaf is a great recipe for any gravy-lover to have up their culinary sleeve. This is why.
One of the classic ways to make a gravy that's dark and rich is by using the drippings from a roast, and all the dark crusty bits on the bottom of the pan. But what if you don't have a roast in the first place?
Matty’s meatloaf gravy recipe starts with fat bacon lardons panfried until crisp, and the rendered bacon fat used to start the gravy. All the rich flavour of that crisp, caramelised pork goes into the sauce.
Watch it all unfold in the “Meatloaf Town” episode of It’s Suppertime, below, and get the recipe for his TV dinner meatloaf with gravy here.
So good you could drink it?
The secret to rich, thick, dark gravy that makes you want to drink it straight from the sauce boat? Home-made chicken stock, made using a whole chicken, where the pieces are pan-fried, along with a brace of vegetables, extracting maximum flavour, before being simmered for three hours with bay leaves and thyme.
"You can make a chicken stock with just bones. You'll get a really good chicken stock. But if you were to take a whole chicken, it's just much more flavour," Matheson explains.
Get the scoop on the stock and using it in a deliciously drinkable gravy in the “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner” episode of It’s Suppertime (in which Matty also shares a top trick for getting more crispy skin on your roast chicken).
Add a twist
There’s nothing complicated about this gravy – it’s simply a matter of taking the drippings from your roast turkey and following the usual techniques. But Fulton does add a secret ingredient to her recipe: a tablespoon or two of dry sherry or port.
Making gravy for someone who needs to be gluten-free? Flour is the traditional way to thicken gravy – and of course gluten-free cornflour is one good option. But here’s another, from River Cottage star Paul West. The gravy he serves up with his roast pork loin (one for crackling lovers) is flour free, but with heaps of flavor from the pork roasting fat, cider and mustard.
Put it on poutine (aka cheesy Kosher gravy)
Paul West's pork loin boasts superb crackling, and a cracking cider gravy too. Source: Sharyn Cairns
Poutine is a Canadian specialty, where warm gravy and cheese curds are dished up on top of potato fries. This version, made with a mixture of beef and chicken stock, follows the classic route of a roux-based sauce, where flour provides the thickening, but for a Kosher version, try this poutine recipe which uses parmesan and soy sauce to up the flavor.
Cheesy gravy on poutine with a twist. Source: Chanie Apfelbaum
All 24 episodes of It's Suppertime are now streaming on SBS ON Demand. For more sauce secrets, see SBS Food's sauces recipe collection.
