Buttermilk Gravy

There’s nothing like homemade gravy to spice up your dinner, or should I say, supper--the preferred term here in the south. Some people are intimidated by gravy making.  I used to be too, until I realized the secret was to add everything a little bit at a time, and stir, stir, stir.



Buttermilk Gravy

Browned bits and a little grease left over from frying
1/4 cup flour
1.5 cups buttermilk
Salt and Pepper to taste

The first, and most important step, to making buttermilk gravy is that you need to have fried something first. It doesn’t matter what, as long as it is breaded, but I would recommend Fried Chicken, or better still, Chicken Fried Steak, something with which the gravy goes wonderfully.

After you have completed your fried item, remove most of the grease from the pan. The grease can be made up of Crisco, regular shortening, or even lard (which is what I use to fry chicken fried steaks). When you drain the grease, try to leave most of the little browned bits behind in the skillet. These are what will flavor your gravy.

Now, continue to heat the little bit of grease you have left in the pan, and gently sift in the flour. You’ll want to do just a little bit at a time, watch it brown, and then add more.

Once the flour has browned, add your buttermilk a little at a time, and begin to stir or whisk vigorously.

If you add the milk too fast, you can cool the pan down, and when it heats back up the milk will curdle. If you do it slowly, a little at a time, you will maintain a nice boil, and you will eventually have a nice gravy when you have added all of the milk. At this point it should look like the photo below.

Continue to stir, and add salt and pepper the gravy to taste. Serve immediately.

Until next time,

Good Gravy to ya!

Chris