Traditionally, gravy is made using the juices of meat thickened by a thickener like cornstarch or flour. But what happens when you don't have meat drippings? Well, there are actually many ways to make gravy that don't involve preparing elaborate meat dishes alongside it. This cheat gravy recipe is one of those.
This cheat gravy comes together in almost no time. So it's a good back-pocket recipe to have; something easy to whip up in case you're frying up some chicken or making a quick steak. Plus, it only uses six ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 3 stock cubes, beef or chicken
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups water
- ground black pepper, to taste
Add oil to a pan over medium heat. Crumble the cubes into the pan, then toast while mashing with the back of a spoon to form a paste. Cook the paste until fragrant and toasted for 1 minute, then add butter and heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until evenly combined, about 2 minutes.
Add water and whisk constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Cook the gravy until boiling. Reduce heat to low and cook until thickened, about 5 more minutes. Season with black pepper and stir lightly before removing from heat. Serve.
