Recipe: Perfect Ham Gravy

Jeannie: This will work every time. This is a basic pan gravy recipe that can be altered as you need.

For example: instead of "butter, oil, or shortening", use drippings from your ham to make the roux.

If you want a light-colored gravy, do not brown the flour very much before adding the drippings from your ham.

The water from the potatoes can certainly be used instead of broth or milk. I think you might want to use some milk to "whiten" your gravy.

Jeannie: This really does work! Hope it helps.

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GREAT HOME-MADE GRAVY

Make a roux (pronounced "roo") by combining equal amounts of
flour and butter, oil, or shortening and cooking it over medium heat
in a skillet until well blended.

(Each tablespoon of roux will thicken approximately 1 cup of hot
gravy, sauce, or soup.)

The color of your gravy depends upon a couple things you can do
during this first step. One way to get the darker deep-colored
gravy is to brown the flour in the skillet BEFORE adding the oil or
shortening.

You can also use pan drippings instead of butter, oil or shortening.
If you are using the gravy with beef, use some of your beef
drippings. You can also fry some bacon and use those drippings.
Include some of the meat left in the drippings to enhance the flavor
of your gravy.

Once your roux is ready, whisk the roux into hot broth or pan
drippings and simmer until thickend and the starchy taste cooks
out.

You can also add your broth to the pan in which you made the
roux; however, add it slowly and stir continuously until all the broth
is added.

If you want the thick country-style gravy such as is used on
biscuits, add milk to the roux instead of broth. Remember,
however, the milk will lighten the color of the gravy.

If you are wanting to include mushrooms in your gravy, saute your
mushrooms before adding them to the gravy. Add them after
adding the broth, however, if you do not want the mushrooms to
be broken while whisking or stirring the broth into the roux.

If you want to make your gravy even darker, you can add a pinch
of beef bouillon or instant coffee. Also, if your gravy becomes too
thin after adding the liquid, thicken it using left-over mashed
potatoes or instant mashed potato flakes.

Add salt and pepper to taste. ENJOY!