I'm making gravy

[Mr Zoat]

I'm British, and today I will be making American gravy for the first time.

As far as I can tell, the difference between British gravy and American gravy is that you use milk instead of meat stock, and you mix the meat in with it rather than pouring it on the meat later. So what you end up with is a sort of soggy deconstructed Toad in the Hole. Have I got that right?

Does anyone have a recipe they'd like to share? Preferably without 'cups' or 'quarts' or other nonsense measurements like that. I'm particularly interested in what herbs work well with it.

 

[Soupervan]

Some may make it that way but I'm American and have never made gravy from milk or honestly heard of it- maybe I'm out of the loop?
Most I know just cook up bacon or sausage and add flour to the left over oil or what I usually do; buy a packet of gravy mix like "Pioneer Country Gravy Mix" at the store which has powdered chicken, flour and spices in it (with milk powder, the more you know, always read the ingredients twice or you'll miss something), just add water and fry it up, easy and tastier than anything I can make myself. Oh, and add pepper to taste, I like a very peppery gravy personally.

 

[Mr Zoat]

When you say 'sausage', do you mean actual sausages or sausage meat?

Obviously it's pretty strange to me either way, but a quick look on the internet suggests that milk is normal.

Do you know specifically what spices? It's unlikely that I'd be able to get an American spice mix here but dried spices are easy to acquire.

 

[Soupervan]

Sausages in America can mean sausage sausages but also breakfast sausages somewhat similar to what you over in the UK call bangers, usually made out primarily of pork but usually without casings instead molded into shape.

Looked at the ingredients (and saw I was wrong before and there is nonfat milk powder after all) and the spices are, garlic, sugar and just plain unspecified spices but a google of country style gravy got me this recipe, https://www.food.com/recipe/country-gravy-mix-138040
spices has paprika, ground pepper and what I suspect the unspecified seasonings in the prepackaged brand are, poultry seasonings- a google of which turned out to be a mix of sage, thyme, celery seed, marjoram, black pepper and nutmeg.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Sausages in America can mean sausage sausages but also breakfast sausages somewhat similar to what you over in the UK call bangers, usually made out primarily of pork but usually without casings instead molded into shape.

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No, I meant, should I buy sausages and cut them up, or would a pack of minced pork be fine? Is there a difference?

Looked at the ingredients (and saw I was wrong before and there is nonfat milk powder after all) and the spices are, garlic, sugar and just plain unspecified spices but a google of country style gravy got me this recipe, https://www.food.com/recipe/country-gravy-mix-138040
spices has paprika, ground pepper and what I suspect the unspecified seasonings in the prepackaged brand are, poultry seasonings- a google of which turned out to be a mix of sage, thyme, celery seed, marjoram, black pepper and nutmeg.

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Okay, most of that makes sense, but why would you put sugar in gravy?

Oh, and is the flour corn flour -which is what I'd usually use for thickening- or wheat flour?

 

[Soupervan]

I can't imagine minced pork being bad in a gravy, so either would be fine though sausages usually are seasoned so you might need to up the seasonings a touch.

As to why sugar... Honestly hell if I know, I wouldn't add sugar to a gravy or most savory dishes, but maybe they use the gravy on or with pork- sweet pork dishes are pretty good, pineapple baked ham is one of my favorite ways to cook a meat and sweet and sour pork is pretty good too and chocolate covered bacon.. is a bit much and I probably wouldn't eat it again but I'm glad for having tried it despite knowing it probably took a few weeks off my life.

 

[Nerevar]

The idea for American gravy, if I understand what you're trying to cook correctly, is that by cooking the meat in the gravy, you get the same general effect as you would get by starting with a meat stock in.

When milk is added, the idea is to act as a secondary thickener and to serve as a source of fat. You would include it if you're cooking a leaner meat and would not include it for a fattier meat. Since we tend to cook with less fatty meats in the US (ironic given how high fat everything else we eat is), adding milk is pretty common.

The thickener is generally going to be wheat flour in American cooking rather than corn flour. Corn flour tends to be used more in specialty dishes, with wheat flour being used for most things that call for flour. Though based on my experience having had to adapt to gluten free cooking after a late diagnosis of celiac disease, I don't think you'll find there's much difference between the two thickeners.

For seasonings, that's going to depend very heavily on what your base meat is. Turkey gravy will differ significantly from beef gravy which will differ greatly from pork gravy. Generally you'd add seasonings appropriate for the meat if you were going to season it on its own.

There are also significant differences in how much you want to thicken your gravy based on your meat. Ham gravy will tend to be thinner and sweeter with a more complex blend of seasonings, while turkey gravy will be very thick with relatively light spice mostly with black pepper and possibly some thyme and a bit of paprika, with beef gravy somewhere in between. Turkey gravy is mostly there to add moisture to what is otherwise a relatively dry bird that won't absorb moisture well, so you go for a thicker, less flavorful gravy so it will stick to the meat rather than run off it while also not overwhelming the flavor of the bird, which is why it's the thickest of the traditional American gravies.

 

[Mr Zoat]

pineapple baked ham is one of my favorite ways to cook a meat

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Pineapple contains an enzyme which breaks meat down.

and sweet and sour pork is pretty good too and chocolate covered bacon.. is a bit much and I probably wouldn't eat it again but I'm glad for having tried it despite knowing it probably took a few weeks off my life.

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Chocolate..? Why?

For seasonings, that's going to depend very heavily on what your base meat is. Turkey gravy will differ significantly from beef gravy which will differ greatly from pork gravy. Generally you'd add seasonings appropriate for the meat if you were going to season it on its own.

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Is 'turkey gravy' gravy made using turkey mince, or for roast turkey?

 

[Nerevar]

Is 'turkey gravy' gravy made using turkey mince, or for roast turkey?

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For roast turkey mostly, though it would likely be used with a turkey mince if you were trying to get a similar gravy without actually roasting a turkey. That sort of turkey gravy tends to be thinner than the version intended for roasted turkey.

 

[Soupervan]

Chocolate..? Why?

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I don't know either but chocolate is a sweetness that goes surprisingly well with salty and/or savory foods like bacon, various meats from beef to ants, chocolate covered potato chips, to the more well known chocolate covered pretzels.

 

[queermunist]

Okay, most of that makes sense, but why would you put sugar in gravy?

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We're 'Muricans. We put sugar in everything

I don't know either but chocolate is a sweetness that goes surprisingly well with salty and/or savory foods like bacon, various meats from beef to ants, chocolate covered potato chips, to the more well known chocolate covered pretzels.

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Prefer maple for when I want a sweet addition to salty/savory stuff myself, but yeah, some unsweetened cocoa is good with chili.