Bill
Bill,
No offense, buddy, but what you've asked for could fill one or more books!
Some chefs spend their entire careers trying to master the entire spectrum of sauces and gravies.
So... I'm going to limit myself to a single gravy. My grandmother's fried chicken milk gravy. Serve over mashed potatoes, biscuits, or toast.
After pan frying a chicken, pour off most of the left over fat. Scrape up the little carmelized "bits" from the bottom of the skillet. These will provide your gravy with lots of flavor.
Mix in a bit of flour into the oil, and stir over low heat. This is a eliminate the "floury" taste.
Carefully pour in cold milk. The amount of milk sort of depends upon how much flour you have. Pour it in slowly and leave a little out for thinning the gravy later if necessary.
(When mixing a roux and fluid, one should be hot and the other cold; otherwise they won't thicken right.)
Gravy and Sauces... 1670On Sat, 31 Dec 2005, Matthew Givens NotBob, you are incorrect in disagreeing with the other two posters above. My 40 years of cooking notwithstanding, the...
Continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly. Do not boil, let the gravy simmer, a few slow bubbles is all you want. As the gravy thickens, remember that it'll thicken even more as it cools. Takes a bit of experience to know exactly how thick to let the gravy get in the pan. When the desired thickness, pour off into a gravy boat and serve.
