Good Heavens That is Good Gravy.

Gravy making, why does it seem to be so complicated? Growing up, the only gravy I remember having at a meal was at Thanksgiving time, and it was not homemade, but came out of a can. During my first marriage I would watch my, then, mother-in-law make a slurry of flour, garlic powder and water, pour it into the meat drippings to create a lumpy, oily mess. Not very good examples for making my own gravy, and thus avoided the issue whenever I could. Thank you, thank you, thank you for whomever invented the crock pot; not just for the easy cooking it afforded the home cook, but for the luscious stock that could be made into a stupendous gravy.

"Impossible!", you say; "Cannot make gravy without drippings from roasted meat or poultry!", you say...yep, you can.  First off, I will tell you how by using the crock pot; secondly from drippings out of a roasting pan, without adding butter, cream or extra flour.  Being fair here by giving the choice of crock pot or roasting pan, and not absently dismissing the traditional roasting method.  Now sit back, relax and have a good read...

Scenario: Making pot roast in a crock pot; put your meat in first, but before you put it in, coat it liberally with flour (this is all you will need for that gravy later on); put in your veggies, seasonings and then pour two cups of beef stock over it all; cover, set it and forget it till done.  If making poultry, use chicken stock instead, but use the same coating with flour and veggies over the top process.

 

Gravy brings a pot roast dinner all together.

The meat is done, put it on a platter to rest with 3/4 of the vegetables.  Looking into the crock pot, you will see an oily sheen on top; that is the oil that came out of your meat or poultry during the cooking process.  Do not worry, we are going to get rid of that easily, and not lose any flavor.

 

Pureed vegetables will thicken the gravy.

The liquid inside the pot is also thin; the flour you coated the meat in was not enough to thicken, but just enough to help with the process.  The 1/4 portion of vegetables that you left inside is going to be your true thickener.  What is neat about this is that anyone that refuses to eat their veggies, but loves gravy, is going to eat veggies and not even know.  Well, they will if you tell them, but we are keeping this a secret, right? Of course, you can leave bits of veggies if you like, so long as no one you are serving is a problem eater.

 

Bits of veggies hidden in the gravy.

 

Now, you all know how I love my immersion blender, but if you still have not purchased your own (why not!?!), then a regular blender will do.  Begin pulverizing the vegetables inside the pot, being careful not to raise the blender too high and splash the liquid around the kitchen.  Not only will the soon to be gravy be thickening up, but you will see it turn to a rich color; you will be tempted to serve it as is, but patience grasshopper, patience.

 

 

To get the oil out of your gravy, pour the amount of pureed liquid you need into a plastic container and place into the freezer for one hour.  Take the container out of the freezer and you will see that the fats have solidified on top; carefully spoon them out and do not forget to scrape it off the sides of the container too. You will probably have a lot more gravy left over which can be defatted, frozen and reheated when needed; because you did not use any dairy in its making, the chance of separating is none. 

Place in freezer safe plastic container.

 

Scrape off the fat solids.

 

 

 

To serve, just warm up the gravy; no further seasonings need to be added, especially salt which would have come from the stock you initially used when cooking your meat.  If you really need to have a smooth gravy, go ahead and strain out all the little bits that the blender could not pulverize.  We like it rustic; it proves that it is homemade, not out of some can or jar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The color of the gravy depends on what vegetables were used during the cooking process. More carrots and tomatoes give a redder coloring.

Ok, now for the roasted part of this post; you are going to need a deep roasting pan for this process.  Either use a rack to lay your meat or poultry on, or a very thick layer of cut up vegetables will work too.  In the pan, lay out all your cut up vegetables and sprinkle a little flour over all of them; pour your stock over all; then place the rack with meat, or the meat itself on top and roast until done.  Oh, do not forget to season your meat or poultry; as the fat melts, it will take some of the seasoning with it and add it to the veggies down below.  Now just follow the same gravy making process as I explained for the crock pot; you just might want to transfer your liquid and 1/4 portion to a deep bowl first though. 

How come I did not use any water in the crock pot or roasting pan?  The vegetables gave me all I needed; during the cooking process, they sweated out their excess moisture, so adding water at the beginning would have thinned out the gravy way too much at the end.

Making gravy is not so hard after all; just remember to not additional seasonings until after the process is done and you have tasted the end product.  You will be very surprised.  Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour

 

 

A Roast, by Any Other Name

would taste as delicious, no matter which pot it was cooked in.  Of course, this is a rather clumsy rendition of Juliet’s speech, to Romeo, in, what else, Shakespeare’s play, “Romeo and Juliet”.  Since I have opened with something British, might as well continue on.

This article’s center piece is on pot roast, so very fitting to begin with an American classic, Yankee Pot Roast.  Originally the concept of pot roast was brought over by the British; a meal of corned beef and vegetables which were boiled or stewed. This became known as the colonial era "New England Boiled Dinner. However, with the availability of fresh game in the "New World" or what is now called the United States of America; and some cooking tips from our neighbors, the Native Americans, roasting the meat and vegetables together opened up a new culinary world for us. The name Yankee refers to the recipe coming from New England, or the Yanks as the mother country referred to us.

 

Yankee Pot Roast

 Ingredients:

1 lb. small red potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 (16 oz.) package frozen crinkle cut carrots, thawed

1 (28 oz.) plus 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 cup each chopped onion and celery

2 Tbsp. sliced garlic

1 tsp. each ground black pepper and fine sea salt

¼ cup flour

4 lb. chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat

1 cup beef broth

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup chili sauce

Preparation:

Spray a 6-quart crock pot with nonstick cooking spray; put the setting on low. Layer the ingredients following the list of Ingredients (sprinkle the salt, pepper and flour over the vegetables) until the roast is placed in last.

In a small bowl, mix together the beef broth, soy and chili sauces; pour over the roast. Lift roast slightly to allow liquid to get underneath. Cook for 10 hours.

Makes 8 servings.

Cooking Tip: To make a pot roast starter, at least 3-4 cups of extra liquid are produced during the cooking process. Spoon it out, strain it and put it in the freezer for an hour; any excess fat can then be scooped out before it is stored back in the freezer. This liquid can now be used as a starter for the next time Yankee Pot Roast is made, so the step concerning mixing the beef broth, soy and chili sauces together can be skipped. As you continue doing this, your starter liquid will become richer and more flavorful, making your pot roast sensational.

But wait, there is more to tantalize your desire for meat.  Pot Roast is actually an example of braising; the searing of meat and finishing it off in liquid, cooked low and slow. Italian Osso Buco and traditional American Yankee Pot Roast are prime examples.  If you have prepared and/or eaten either of these dishes, you have eaten braised meat.   I have already introduced you to Yankee Pot Roast, so now we are off to Italy and their version, "Beef Brasato".  The origin of this dish is Barolo, located in Northern Italy where a deep, rich red wine is made and used in the making of "Brasato al Barolo" or beef braised in Barolo (wine).  A side note, if you cannot find Barolo wine, a full-bodied red wine such as Merlot will do nicely as a substitute.

What is truly unique about this braising process is instead of using water or broth, the liquid is wine. The alcohol completely cooks out, so no need to worry if ingesting alcohol is not in your diet for whatever reason.

When choosing a roast for braising, I usually go with rump, eye round or sirloin tip for the leanness, and any outside excess fat is removed while a little marbling is perfectly fine.  Normally though, for pot roasting, a cheaper, tougher cut, such as chuck roast, is the norm.  However, this cut is also loaded with sections of fat running throughout it; this fat tenderizes the meat, but causes your gravy to become very greasy.  If this is the only roast you can find at an affordable price, do not panic as there is a way to fix that gravy.  One hour before getting ready to serve the meal, ladle out however much gravy you think you will need plus one cup into a plastic container.  Put the container into the freezer; in an hour the fat will have risen to the surface and solidified.  The fat is still soft enough to spoon out and will leave a gravy that contains little to no grease in it.  While heating up the gravy, the meat should be resting before slicing and both be ready at the same time for serving.  See, told you not to panic.

 

A traditional base for soups and stews is the "mirefois", the combination of onions, celery and carrots.  If cooking were a religion, this would be known as "The Holy Trinity".  Here is a little tip:  Carrots give a natural sweetness to a dish, especially if it contains tomatoes which can be bitter or acidic, so do not hesitate to add them when cooking pasta sauce or chili.  The mirefois will be softened up before adding to the recipe to ensure the vegetables do not remain "hard" after the entire cooking process is done.

 

 Time to cook Italian style pot roast!

 

Brasato al Barolo

 

Ingredients:

Sirloin Tip Roast

1 cup each of diced onions, celery and carrots

4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided in half

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 (3 lb..) lean roast, cut in half

1/2 tsp. each salt and ground black pepper

4 cups diced tomatoes

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning mixture

2 cups wine (Barolo or Merlot)

Preparation:

In a large skillet, medium heat, put 2 tablespoons of oil and mix together the onions, celery, carrots and garlic.  Let the vegetables cook for 10 minutes to soften, stirring occasionally to make sure they are not sticking, browning or burning.  Remove to a bowl when done and wipe out skillet.

Return the skillet to the burner, but turn the heat up to medium-high and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Season the roast halves with the salt and black pepper; place into the skillet and sear both sides of the meat and all edges. While the meat is searing, turn on a 6-quart crock pot to low and spray the inside with nonstick cooking spray. Once the meat is seared, place it inside the crockpot.

Now, start a layering process: on top of the meat spread out the softened vegetables, mix the tomatoes with the tomato paste and spread this over the vegetables; sprinkle on the seasoning mix before pouring the wine over it all. Place on the lid and let it cook for 10 hours. Remove the meat to a serving platter to rest; use a hand blender, or transfer the liquid to a stand blender. Pulse quickly 4 to 6 times and the gravy will thicken up, but you want to leave some of the vegetables intact for taste, texture and eye attraction.

 Makes 8 servings.



Side suggestions: Pappardelle, a long ribbon like egg pasta made with semolina flour, or extra wide egg noodles. Garlic mashed potatoes would enhance the flavors of the gravy. Polenta is very Italian indeed and can be served in a soft texture, like mashed potatoes, or in a firmer texture which has been fried up to a golden brown in olive oil, butter or combination of both.

Mary Cokenour