Make-Ahead Mushroom Gravy

Jeff the Chef

"Mushroom Gravy," from Make It Like a Man!

You can make this mushroom gravy with or without pan drippings – which means you can make it ahead if you wish. It’s wonderfully flavorful and pairs superbly with beef, pork, or any other kind of hearty food. Impressive on a steak!

Ingredients for about 2 cups:

1 Tbs bacon fat or olive oil
2 cups finely diced white onion (from 1 medium-sized onion)
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
2 cups beef broth (or more, to taste)
1 cup red wine[a]
2 tsp paprika
¼ tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
1½ Tbs corn starch
3 Tbs heavy cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
Stone-ground mustard, optional
Beef bouillon, optional

How to do it:

  1. Heat the fat/oil:
    1. If the bacon fat is solid, toss it into a cold, cast-iron skillet. Turn the heat to medium-low. Once you’ve melted the fat, move on to Step 2.
    2. If the fat is liquid, or if you’re using olive oil, pre-heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat for two minutes. Add the fat/oil.
Mushroom Gravy, from Make It Like a Man!

Mushroom Gravy on a Bacon-Wrapped Meat Roll

  1. Toss one tiny piece of onion into the oil, and when it starts to sizzle, toss in the rest of the onion.
  2. Sauté until soft, 10 minutes.
  3. Add mushrooms, broth, wine, and seasonings. Bring the liquid to a simmer and keep it there for about 10 minutes.
  4. A fork in the road:
    1. If you happen to be cooking some meat while you’re making this gravy, you can incorporate the pan juices. Once the meat is resting, scrape the contents of the cooking vessel (deglaze with red wine if necessary) and stir them into the mushroom mixture. Simmer 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Off heat. Strain the mixture. Set solids aside. Pour the liquid through a fat separator and into a saucepan.
    2. If you’re not going to use any pan juices, continue simmering the mushroom mixture for another 10 minutes. Off heat. Strain the mixture. Set solids aside.
  1. Bring the strained liquid to a boil and cook over high heat until it has been reduced by about a third, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, pick the bay leaves out of the solids.
  2. Stir together the corn starch and cream until it’s smooth and looks like a delicious frosting. Then, add a few Tbs of the hot liquid to the cream mixture, and stir until smooth. Whisk the slurry back the pot, and continue whisking and simmering until the gravy thickens (which should take less than a minute). Check and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. If the sauce is too thick, whisk in water (or more beef broth) 1 Tbs at a time. (Add mustard and/or bouillon, to taste. Bouillon will add flavor; mustard will counterbalance sweetness and lend complexity.)
  3. Unless you want a perfectly smooth sauce, Return some or all (according to your preferences) of the solids (especially the mushrooms) to the gravy, and heat through.

Keeps well in the fridge. Reheats beautifully; add water, if needed. This gravy is good for times when you don’t have pan juices to work with. But because it’s easy to make ahead, it’s also good when you don’t have time to work with pan juices, even though you’ve got them. In that case, after dinner, stir the pan juices you didn’t use into any leftover gravy. You’ll have the foundation of something delicious for tomorrow.

Notes

  1. Wine: consider Beaujolais-Villages, Louis Jadot, 2011. Serve the rest of the bottle with dinner. This is a delicious wine, and it goes perfectly with this mushroom gravy.

Large Blog Image

Mushroom Gravy

Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything.
It was, however, inspired by Cooking Weekends, modified so that it can be cooked on a weekDAY! 😉 Thank you, Kesor.

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32 thoughts on “Make-Ahead Mushroom Gravy”

  5. I’ve never done mushroom gravy with a beaujolais, need to try that! Plays right off the mustard. Thanks for sharing that, Jeff!

    Reply

  8. Interesting! Gravy is often an afterthought around here, and it never quite lives up to the billing. But this version? I think I could drink it with a spoon…or a straw…or one of those spoons that’s also a straw. Well done, my friend, well done! (Also, I’m intrigued by the fact that it reheats well, too.)
    David @ Spiced recently posted…Slow Cooker Pork Posole

    Reply

  11. I tend to use just the pan juices and some wine and a little extra meat stock to make my gravy when I’m cooking meat. I love the thought of the addition of the paprika, and of course the mushrooms here Jeff. This is one tasty rich and delicious looking gravy YUM!

    Reply

    • Thanks, Neil. That’s usually what I do, too – but sometimes I want to have something ready-to-go so that I don’t have to fuss with a sauce as the last minute.

      Reply

  15. I love thick mushroom gravy. Grits, mashed potatoes, rice, bread, almost everything taste better with it. In your recipe, what can I use instead of wine?

    Reply

    • Hmm, I don’t know. If you were using pan dripping, you might get away without it. Without the drippings, the wine contributes a lot to the sauce. Another flavorful liquid like cider, beer, tomato sauce?

      Reply

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