The Best Homemade Beef Gravy Recipe (How to Make Brown Gravy) (2024)

FAQs

How do I make my gravy more brown? ›

How can I make brown gravy better? My beef gravy recipe is delicious for sure – but it's also bare bones. There's so much you can do to spice things up! One easy way to improve your gravy is to add a good balance of flavors — mustard, wine, or vinegar for acidity and some herbs for freshness, for example.

The difference between brown and beef gravy is that brown gravy can be made with any type of meat drippings or stock, while beef gravy is specifically made with beef drippings or stock.

When making home cooked gravy, the (flour and fat) roux is cooked until it turns brown, to ensure a dark gravy color. Some cooks use a smidge of instant coffee granules or something called Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Master (or gravy browning, generically) for some added color.

To make dark brown beef gravy, cook the roux even longer (but at a lower temperature) until it's a dark color with a nutty aroma. Then use beef broth or beef juices to make your gravy.

Herbs and spices: Add dried herbs like thyme, rosemary, or sage, or spices such as black pepper, paprika, or cayenne pepper. These will impart additional flavors and complexity to the gravy.

Browning adds more flavor to the gravy and gets rid of the raw flour taste. You're basically making a roux. We find that a flour-based gravy holds up better and reheats better later, which is why we tend to prefer using flour over cornstarch to make gravy unless we have a guest who is eating gluten-free.

If your gravy tastes great but it lacks a little depth, add an umami flavor boost. Umami flavors are deeply savory and feel round on the palate. Spruce up the gravy with a splash of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce (if the gravy isn't already too salty, that is).

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.

Why is my brown gravy not thickening? ›

Cook the gravy longer.

If the consistency of your gravy isn't what you want, try simmering the gravy a bit longer to help evaporate some of the liquids. If the gravy still hasn't thickened to your liking after about 10 minutes or so, it's now time to try a thickening agent.

Other common names include country gravy, sawmill gravy, milk gravy, and sausage gravy.

What is gravy anyway? At the most basic level, gravy is a simple pan sauce that requires liquid and a thickener. Traditional turkey gravy usually has fat, flour, and stock. You can make excellent turkey gravy with just those ingredients, plus salt and pepper for seasoning.

Does KFC use brown gravy or chicken gravy? Technically, it's a brown gravy with some leftover chicken bits from their fried chicken mixed in. To replicate that flavor in our KFC gravy recipe, we use beef bouillon in addition to a bit of chicken broth.

Make sure the flour has been cooked long enough: When flour is added to the pan drippings or butter, whisk constantly while the mixture cooks until it turns a deep golden brown and smells nutty.

Return to the heat and bring back to the boil stirring continuously until the gravy starts to thicken, then season to taste with herbs and seasoning of your choice. If you want to make your gravy darker, add a tablespoon of gravy browning.

The longer you cook, the darker the roux becomes, the more flavor it will have, but the less thick gravy it will make. That over-the-top brick roux is only 25% as effective as a white roux at thickening. So, you need to ponder how much flavor you want versus how thick you want your gravy to become.