Alamo Heights' Best Restaurants: Restaurants in San Antonio

sausage gravy :: Article Creator

Every Gravy Recipe You'll Ever Need

It's all gravy, baby — we've got turkey gravy to sausage gravy, mushroom gravy, and more.

Photo by Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Prissy Lee

Gravy recipes are a must for the holidays but, hear us out: Gravy is worthy of its own holiday. Whether you're seeking a turkey gravy recipe, sausage gravy recipe, mushroom gravy recipe, tomato gravy recipe, beef gravy recipe, or any other gravy recipe under the sun, we've assembled an all-star panel of cookbook authors, Food & Wine staffers, and chefs — including the likes of Edna Lewis, Anthony Bourdain, Michael Symon, Tanya Holland, Brooke Williamson, and a literal rock star who knows her way around the kitchen — to bring you every gravy recipe you will ever need.

Anthony Bourdain's Turkey Gravy

In 2016, the late chef and author Anthony Bourdain shared his sides-heavy three-day strategy for Thanksgiving prep — including the preparation of two turkeys ("Stunt" and "Business"), butter-glutted Mashed Potatoes, Kind of Robuchon-Style, uncooked Cranberry Relish, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Mushroom and Chestnut Stuffing with Giblets, Candied Sweet Potatoes with Bourbon, and this fish sauce, red wine, and Worcestershire-bolstered Turkey Gravy. Multiple F&W commenters have dubbed it some version of "best gravy ever," while F&W staffers (OK one) fully plan on filling up their gravy fountain with it this year.

Get the Recipe

P!Nk's Red Wine Gravy

Marcus Nilsson

If you read Ray Isle's rollicking 2019 feature with Alecia Moore (aka recording artist and songwriter P!Nk), you know she's a serious winemaker and vigneron. But perhaps less frequently cited in her bio is the fact that she makes exceptional gravy featuring Cabernet Sauvignon — which she occasionally sells in limited release from her label, Two Wolves. But if you can't get your paws on a bottle or care to keep it strictly for sipping, another Santa Barbara Cab will also rock in this recipe.

Get the Recipe

Erick Williams' Cheffed-Up Sausage Gravy

Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

James Beard Award-winning chef Erick Williams is something of a gravy oracle, and it all starts with a righteous roux. Take yours just up to a peanut-butter-brown state over the course of six to eight minutes, and ramp up the flavor with chicken stock, milk, thyme, black pepper, salt, garlic, cayenne, and cooked sausage. Biscuits are the canonical accompaniment, but if you opted for a shot glass straight to the gullet, who are we to question?

Get the Recipe

Michael Symon's Lager Gravy

There is both beer and cider in 1998 F&W Best New Chef Michael Symon's gravy, plus some roasted giblets if you happen to have them left over from roasting a turkey. Simon, a proud son of Ohio, opts for a Dortmunder Gold lager from Cleveland's Great Lakes Brewing Co., but unless he's personally attending your celebration, he'll never know if you choose another brew local to you.

Get the Recipe

Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock's Tomato Gravy

Greg DuPree

If Southern cooking icons Scott Peacock and the late Edna Lewis told us to deep-fry our own arms, we'd start melting the lard, but luckily this just entails whisking together some oil (ideally left over from a fresh batch of chicken), canned tomatoes, both cream and milk, and thyme with onions and garlic, sautéed to golden. Then probably a lot of moaning — but in a rapturous way.

Get the Recipe

Brooke Williamson's Lobster Gravy

Photo by Jennifer Causey / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn

You may know chef and restaurateur Brooke Williamson from her winning stints on Top Chef or Tournament of Champions, or her many appearances on Guy's Grocery Games, Knife Fight, and other food programs. You'll become a verified fan after your first batch of paprika, cayenne, and anise-kissed gravy, especially when it's lavished over turmeric-poached eggs and chive biscuits at a leisurely weekend brunch.

Get the Recipe

Tanya Holland's Pearl Onion Giblet Gravy

Chef, author, and Top Chef alum Tanya Holland had us at pearl onion gravy. But then she had to go and get all extra with the addition of mashed, seasoned garlic, roasted simply in the oven for an hour.

Get the Recipe

Grant Achatz's Black Garlic–Red Wine Gravy

It would easy to assume that a gravy made by 2002 F&W Best New Chef Grant Achatz might be all a-simmer with aerated garlic essence and spherified thoughts of Barolo, but really it's just exceptionally great gravy, albeit with a bunch of extra-flavorful touches. Black garlic — which is made by aging garlic under specifically controlled conditions (or you could just buy it) — brings a deep, savory funk to a concoction of brown sugar, red wine, soy sauce, beef broth, and herbs. It's a harmonious accompaniment to his shallot, herb, and prune-marinated beef roast, but would also sing well with potatoes, roasted green or root vegetables, or pretty much any meal that could stand to have the flavor volume cranked up.

Get the Recipe

Zoë Kanan's Tahini Gravy

Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

OK fine, baking great Zoë Kanan's gravy recipe anticipates you already having turkey gravy on hand from your feast. But, if you happen to be in this fortunate position, whisking in some tahini and lemon juice brings a happy glow-up, making it a natural fit for leftover mashed potatoes and stuffing that have been re-seasoned and fashioned into faux falafel.

Get the Recipe

David Tanis' Wild Mushroom Gravy

Chef and author David Tanis makes aaalllll the room for 'shrooms in this earthy mix of chanterelles (if you can find them, but cremini and oyster work if you can't) and porcini powder with roasting pan drippings. Oh you were planning on making a turkey, too? He's got you covered with a recipe for an herb-amped bird, cleverly roasted with an apple inside for extra flavor and juiciness.

Get the Recipe

Kiki Aranita's Miso Gravy

Kelsey Hansen / Food Styling by Annie Probst / Prop Styling by Gabe Greco

Writer and chef Kiki Aranita is a passionate ambassador for the cuisine of Hawai'i where she spend a lot of her formative years (read her award-winning essay on the subject if you haven't already) and loco moco is at the core of it. Just as fundamental is this miso-backed, ultra-savory gravy with note of ginger to sass it all up.

Get the Recipe

Michel Nischan's Cherry Gravy

Are we requiring you to make chef Michel Nischan's braised pork shoulder to generate the drippings for this sour cherry gravy? Yes, but it's for your own good. It all ends in tender medallions paired with creamed fennel and leeks and a generous lashing of piquant, fruity sauce so we're not especially sorry.

Get the Recipe

Susan Spungen's Thyme Gravy

Shallots, herbs, soy, and Madeira bring some holiday magic to cookbook author and food stylist Susan Spungen's gravy. It's excellent on anything, but paired with a perfectly-browned, herb and shallot butter-rubbed bird, this gravy works double-thyme.

Get the Recipe

Ann Taylor Pittman's Make-Ahead Smoky Madeira Gravy

Photo by Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Prissy Lee

Oh dear, more Madeira? Yup, and cookbook author Ann Taylor Pittman's spikes her silky, giblet-based turkey gravy with fortified wine and smoked wings for a make-ahead gravy that can be simmered on the stovetop or assembled in a pressure cooker up to two months ahead of time if you keep it stashed in the freezer.

Get the Recipe

The F&W Test Kitchen's Mushroom and Herb Gravy with Apple Brandy

Photo by Noah Fecks / Food Styling by Drew Aichele / Prop Styling by Ethan Lunkenheimer

Recipe developer Marianne Williams crafted this impossibly rich mushroom, shallot, rosemary, thyme, and brandy-backed gravy in the F&W Test Kitchen, then upped the ante with the brilliant addition of Dijon mustard. Really great turkey jus is key, and as it happens, F&W's editor-in-chief (and former line cook) Hunter Lewis is more than happy to share his method.

Get the Recipe

Dale Talde's Redeye Curry Gravy

Gravy, as we have well established, is great. Top Chef alum Dale Talde's curry, sriracha, ginger, and coconut milk-kicked version of the traditional coffee-based redeye gravy may in fact be the greatest of all. Ladle it onto chicken-fried steaks and noodles and kick yourself for all the time you spent in your life not eating this before.

Get the Recipe

Kelly English's Andouille Gravy

Oh, do we ever love 2009 F&W Best New Chef Kelly English's andouille-based gravy on its own merits, but especially when it's topping a poutine studded with crayfish and pimento cheese. Serve it with a side of gentle napping.

Get the Recipe

Dana Cowin's Bacon-Shallot Gravy

Former F&W editor-in-chief Dana Cowin learned a thing or two about cooking in her 22-year tenure, and this bacon and shallot gravy is one of the best. White wine brings in a bright note, shallots add sweetness, and bacon stokes the smoke.

Get the Recipe

Lee Hefter's Maple Gravy

Maple? Yes, you may — and you should. 1998 F&W Best New Chef Lee Hefter found himself missing the East Coast when he moved west to work with Wolfgang Puck, and found that adding maple syrup to his gravy, made with a foolproof turkey stock, helped quell those pangs a bit. Even if you're not homesick, the balance of sweetness with an abundance of thyme, sage, and parsley will make you feel like you're in your happy place.

Get the Recipe

The F&W Test Kitchen Best-Ever Turkey Gravy

Victor Protasio

Do we love all our chef, author, developer, and staffers' creations equally? Of course we do. But when former F&W food editor Kelsey Youngman came up with this roasted giblet gravy, the team immediately dubbed it The Best, and we're sticking to it. Make it four days ahead and store in the fridge, or keep it on hand for a month in the freezer to bust out in case of gravy emergencies.

Get the Recipe

Javiar Cabral and Paola Briseño González's Buttermilk-Poblano Gravy

Greg DuPree

Javiar Cabral and Paola Briseño González love this gravy, which they created to combine the best of Mexican and American worlds. Fire-roasted poblanos add everything that a fresh green chile has to offer in terms of smokiness and flavor without the heat (unlike a jalapeño or serrano which would be an automatic turn-off to the heat-averse). The buttermilk adds a refreshing tang that will keep you ladling more and more over turkey, chicken, or potatoes.

get the recipe

For more Food & Wine news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Food & Wine.

View comments

The Most Delicious Sausage Gravy Of Your Life Takes Just 35 Minutes To Cook

Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

Along with the subtle toastiness of the roux, satisfying flavor comes from sausage that's browned in the pan to build the base of the gravy.

Frequently asked questions What makes sausage gravy taste better? Sometimes sausage gravy can taste under-seasoned. This recipe is packed with flavor thanks to the use of chicken broth rather than just milk, as well as thyme, black pepper, salt, garlic, and cayenne in the final gravy. Spend time carefully deepening the color of the roux. What should I serve with sausage gravy? Biscuits are a classic food to serve with sausage gravy. Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen The technique for building the roux for sausage gravy is the same technique for making turkey gravy. If you plan to make this recipe for a Thanksgiving day breakfast, make a double batch of this lighter roux through step 2 and then set half of it aside. When it's time for the Thanksgiving meal, the light roux can be cooked further to a darker, milk chocolate shade to make Erick Williams' Turkey Gravy. Make ahead Sausage gravy can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in a refrigerator for up to 1 day. Reheat sausage gravy in a large skillet over medium, stirring often, until warmed through.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 (12-ounce) packages pork breakfast sausage

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more to taste

Biscuits, for serving

Directions

Heat a large skillet or wide saucepan over medium until hot, about 3 minutes. Add oil, and swirl to coat skillet. Arrange sausage patties in skillet in an even layer. Increase heat to medium-high, and cook, breaking up sausage with a wooden spoon and scraping bottom of skillet to release browned bits, until meat is browned and no pink remains, 4 to 5 minutes. (If necessary, reduce heat to medium or medium-low to prevent bitter-tasting burned bits.)

Transfer cooked sausage to a heatproof bowl, and set aside; discard any sausage drippings in skillet. (Do not wipe skillet clean.) Add butter to skillet, and melt over medium. Whisk in flour, and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture darkens to the color of peanut butter, 6 to 8 minutes.

Stir chicken broth, milk, thyme, black pepper, salt, garlic, cayenne, and cooked sausage into roux in skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium, stirring occasionally. Simmer, stirring often, until gravy is thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately with biscuits.

Your Gravy Is Probably Great, But It Can Get Even Better With Tips From The Pros

Gravy is the secret star of the holiday table. It can save a too-dry turkey and under-seasoned mashed potatoes and marry together all the diverse flavors on the plate. Good turkey gravy is like a covert bonus of cooking a turkey — just those caramelized drippings rendered from the turkey's long roast in the oven are enough to bring deep turkey flavor to the whole gravy. Of course, even if you don't eat turkey, or don't have those precious drippings, you can still make gravy. We've worked with dozens of experts over the years to collect their gravy wisdom. Here are our best tips on how to make perfect gravy every time.

Victor Protasio 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. The flour and fat are cooked together to make a roux, which thickens the stock to spoon-coating consistency. A traditional roux uses roughly an equal amount of flour and fat, but gravies often call for a bit more flour than that, to ensure the gravy is thick enough. (The classic ratio for gravy is three:two:one, so 3 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons fat, and 1 cup of hot stock.) You can add other flavors to the mixture, swap out the stock for another liquid, or use cornstarch rather than flour to thicken your gravy. But the backbone of the sauce is a flavorful liquid plus a thickener to increase the liquid's viscosity.

Erick Williams on roux and sausage gravy

Roux can be taken to a range of stages of cooking, from white to blond to deep brown, and chef Erick Williams relies on that versatility to make a day like Thanksgiving go smoothly. If you're feeling ambitious, Williams suggests making a double batch of roux at breakfast time, stirring it just until peanut buttery in color, and then splitting the batch in half. Stir milk and stock into half of the roux to make Sausage Gravy for biscuits to tide folks over until dinner. Later, the remaining roux can be returned to the stove and cooked further, to the color of milk chocolate, before stirring in drippings and stock for turkey gravy.

Fat goes first

To build gravy, the first thing that goes in the pan is fat. If you have drippings from your turkey at the bottom of the roasting pan, you can use that. For a gravy that serves about 16 people, former F&W food editor Kelsey Youngman recommends 1/4 cup of drippings for the gravy. If you don't have that much, or any at all, you can supplement or substitute other fats for the drippings. Bacon grease is a great choice, or you can use melted butter or oil. Warm the fat in the saucepan you'll use for the gravy over medium-low heat.

Anthony Bourdain on adding turkey essence

Buy a separate bag of wings and necks to prep the stock that will give the stuffing its essential turkey flavor and provide the base for what you probably call gravy but what is, in fact, a sauce.

Think about aromatics

Now is the time to add an extra flavor element to your gravy if you so choose, like sweet onions and garlic or mushrooms and herbs. Cook the vegetables in the hot fat until they've softened and the onions have just started to brown around the edges. You don't have to include anything additional if you don't want to, but this is the window to enhance your gravy's flavor with herbaceous or onion-y notes.

Dana Cowin and Jonathan Waxman on preventing clumps

Dana Cowin: I started my gravy with bacon and shallots (no drippings required). Everything went well until I spooned in the flour. The gravy clumped mercilessly.Jonathan Waxman: Spoon the flour into a fine-mesh sieve and then sift it into the pan. Since the flour lands in the skillet like a dusting of snow, it's impossible to create lumps.

Choose your thickener

If you're using flour as your thickener, now is the time to add it. To avoid lumpy gravy, use a fine-mesh sieve to sprinkle the flour over the fat or drippings and the optional cooked vegetables. Youngman's recipe calls for seven tablespoons of flour to 1/4 cup of fat, just shy of a 2:1 ratio of flour to fat. If you're working with less gravy, or worried about it getting too thick, cut down on the amount of flour. You can always thicken the gravy more later. Whisk the flour into the fat slowly over the heat until it's well incorporated.

If you're using cornstarch for your thickener, you'll want to wait until you have the stock in the pan to add it. Cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour, so it's best to go slowly and add a little at a time until the gravy reaches your desired consistency. The best way to do that is to make a slurry of one tablespoon cornstarch to one cup of cool stock, whisked together. Add the stock and cornstarch slowly once the liquid in the pan has gotten up to a simmer, whisking the whole time.

Ann Taylor Pittman on the ideal flour for gravy

Wondra flour helps ensure a smooth consistency.

Deglaze with liquid

Now is the point where you add liquid to the situation. Turkey stock is the traditional gravy ingredient, but you can use whatever stock you have on hand. In Youngman's Best Ever Turkey Gravy, she adds four cups of stock to the pan, but you can adjust that up or down in proportion to the amount of fat and flour you're using. Add a little bit of the stock at first, roughly 1/2 cup, and scrape up the drippings and browned bits of meat or vegetable from the bottom of the pan. Then gradually whisk the rest of the liquid into the mixture slowly, stirring to make sure the broth, thickener, and aromatics are well incorporated.

Hunter Lewis on making turkey stock

Turkey backs, necks, and wings all possess mighty flavor and collagen, which gives your stock more body. You'll find them in the supermarket in the weeks leading up to the feast. Draw out the roasted turkey flavors by browning the turkey parts over a bed of aromatic vegetables in a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet, a pan low slung enough to aid in caramelization yet tall enough to capture the valuable juices that drip and concentrate on the bottom.

Let it come together

Bring the gravy up to a simmer, continuing to whisk, and it should start to thicken up. The ideal consistency for gravy is memorably described by the French as nappant, or thick enough to coat a spoon. If you dip a spoon in the gravy, you should be able to run your finger along the back of the spoon and leave a trail. If you've simmered the gravy for 10 minutes and it's still not thick enough, don't fret — you've got options. You can always make a quick paste of equal amounts (say, a tablespoon each) of softened butter and flour, which is called a beurre manie. Crumble the paste into the simmering liquid, a bit at a time, whisking all the while and allowing the gravy to thicken for a minute or two before adding more.

Jeremiah Tower on keeping gravy warm

The main protein and accoutrements — Tower is not against turkey, though he himself would prefer goose — go onto a central buffet in the kitchen straight out of the oven, along with a thermos of gravy (gravy, he complains, is always cold).

Season to taste

Once the gravy is lusciously nappant, you can adjust the seasoning. It's always a good policy to wait until the sauce is reduced and sufficiently thickened before adding salt; adding it in the beginning can result in an overly salty sauce. Taste the gravy and add salt and pepper to your liking. You can add other spices as well, depending on what flavor profile you're going for. Smoked paprika or chopped-up chipotle in adobo adds a smoky, spicy hit, for example. Feel free to experiment a bit.

Javier Cabral on building flavorful gravy

This vibrant buttermilk-poblano gravy combines the best of Mexican and American worlds. Fire-roasted poblanos add everything that a fresh green chile has to offer in terms of smokiness and flavor without the heat (unlike a jalapeño or serrano which would be an automatic turn-off to the heat-averse). The buttermilk adds a refreshing tang that will keep you ladling more and more over turkey, chicken, or potatoes.

Too thick?

The gravy tends to thicken as it sits, particularly in the fridge overnight. Not to worry — whisk in more hot stock or hot water, a tablespoon at a time, until the sauce gets to the consistency you're looking for. It's all gravy.

Tina Ujlaki on fixing gravy mistakes

The consistency of gravy is easy to correct. If your gravy is thin, simply make a smooth paste with equal amounts of all-purpose flour and unsalted butter, bring your gravy to a boil and gradually whisk in bits of the paste until you get the thickness you desire. Be sure to cook the gravy for at least 5 minutes after you've added the paste, in order to eliminate any raw flour flavor. As a general guideline, for 2 cups of liquid, 3 tablespoons each of butter and flour will yield a lightly thickened gravy; 4 tablespoons each will yield a medium-thick one.

Jean Anderson on Storing Gravy

To store, pour leftover gravy into half-pint freezer containers. Leaving half an inch headroom. And snap on the lids. Date, label and freeze for up to one month.

Thanks for your feedback!

Search This Blog

What to Cook