Recipe–Super Rockstar’s Cream Gravy

Just like sturdy buildings are laid on a solid foundation–so it is with good ole southern comfort food. Cream Gravy is that foundation and a– must know how to make –if you every hope to achieve the “you can cook” status from any self respecting Texan.  I’m convinced Texan’s come out of the womb armed with two things: How to say “Y’all” and their Grandma’s recipe for cream gravy. Here is the one Super Rockstar came into the world with and it is delicious:

The Ingredients.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  If you have drippings leftover from chicken fried steak or fried chicken–all the better.

Whisk in flour. When you whisk it in, it will form a paste. This is normal. I tell you that because the first time I made this, I did not expect a paste. I don’t know what I expected, but I was convinced I’d done something wrong.

Brown the flour. Most recipes tell you to brown the flour for one minute. Let’s clarify this–browning means that you stir it around in the pan for a minute. Yes, the flour (now paste) turns a brownish color–but if you don’t stir continually it will turn a much darker shade of brown and be burned, smell awful and you have to start over.

Add milk and mix well. I use my whisk for this step to reduce the number of lumps in the gravy. Apparently having no lumps is a goal for some, but for me–I’m ok with some…texture.

Bring to a boil stirring continuously and then reduce heat to medium. At this point, the gravy is still pretty thin, but it is starting to thicken a bit.

Allow to thicken to desired consistency, using a spatula to scrape the bottom of the skillet to prevent burning. As it starts to thicken, I switch to a spatula so I can scrape the bottom of the pan and keep it from burning to the bottom. Failing at this basically means that an impenetrable layer of burned milk has adhered to the bottom of your pan and will take an act of God to remove.

Add salt and pepper to taste. This is a delicate step. Too much salt and your lips pucker, too little and it’s bland. I do the–shake, shake, shake, and then taste method–until I get it just right.

Enjoy. We had this recently with some chicken fried chicken and mashed potatoes. It is SO good! It also works well for chicken fried steak, chicken fingers, and–of course–biscuits and sausage gravy.

I welcome your comments.