Thick Brown Gravy

Ingredients

• a pint of stock or water
• one ounce of dripping
• one ounce of flour
• salt

Method

1. 1

   Heat dripping until blue vapour rises, then stir in flour until browned.

2. 2

   Add stock or water for every ounce of flour used, allow to boil, and season to taste.

Nutrition per serving

As published

This recipe was extracted from Sea Cookery (1911) by Richard Bond, page 19. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

salt, and put it in the gridiron. Have a fire that is burning quite red, as, if there is any black coal burning, the gases given out will impart a disagreable flavour and bad colour to the steak. Sprinkle a little salt on the fire to make it burn clearer. Place the steak quite close to the fire, in fact almost touching it, if the steak is thick raise it an inch or two from the fire after the outside has hardened a little, if the steak is thin keep it close to the fire ah the time. Watch it closely, and when the top of the steak becomes moist turn it over so that the heat may harden that surface, keep watching and turning until the steak is cooked When done enough the steak will be slightly thicker in the middle than at the edges, owing to the juices being expanded by the heat. • 30 Do not on any account stick a fork in the steak to see if it is done enough, as in this way you will make an opening for the juice to escape and entirely spoil the results. It is not necessary to serve gravy with grilled steak, as sufficient will escape from it when it is cut at the table. If there is an occasional spurt of flame caused by the fat melting and dropping in the fire during the process of grilling, it will be quite harmless to the meat, and as a matter of fact, it will be favourable. GARNISHING. — The appearance of a dish when it is sent to table is of great importance, and should be carefully studied by all cooks. Made dishes are always improved by garnishing, and the appetising appearance will go a long way towards assisting in the proper enjoyment of food. It is difficult at sea to obtain many of the things used for making a dish look attractive, but still many things can be used that are often overlooked. Suppose you are serving a fricasse, it can easily be garnished with a few sippets of bread which have been previously cut into star, diamond, or other fancy shapes, and fried in hot fat until they have changed to a bright golden tint. Parsley that has been preserved as in the foregoing directions can also be used to relieve the colour. Pickled walnut makes a very pretty garnish if soaked in water for an hour and then cut into slices. Lemon sliced and the slices cut into quarters can be used for garnishing fish or curries. Carrots and turnips cut into small fancy shapes and then boiled, are very effective in decorating hashed meats of any description. Pickled gherkins may be prepared in the same way as walnuts, and used for decorative purposes, and so can hard boiled egg, capers, or tomatoes. GRAVY.— It is of the utmost importance that the gravy served with either joints or made dishes should be of good colour and flavour. The greatest weakness of most sea cooks is the gravy which they serve. It is a grave mistake to serve a thick gravy with roasted meats. To obtain a proper gravy, drain off all the fat it is possible to remove from the roasting tin, and retain only the liquor which has escaped from the joint. Put this on the stove, and boil away all the moisture until the sediment which is left behind com- mences to brown, then add salt and stir round with a spoon. Pour in stock sufficient for the amount of gravy required, and boil up again. Strain off the gravy and send it to table. For made dishes which have a thick gravy, it should be made in the following way — For each pint of gravy required put one ounce of dripping into a pan and leave this on the stove until a blue vapour is seen rising from it. Then to each ounce of dripping stir in one ounce of flour, and con- tinue stirring until the flour is browned. Then add a pint of stock or water for every ounce of flour used, allow to boil, and season to taste. 31 This way of making a thick brown gravy

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.