So You Want A Creamy Country Gravy Recipe?
As for me and my house we shall eat gravy… every chance we get
Who doesn’t like gravy? Better yet, who doesn’t like finding a recipe that will stand the test of time in their family? My creamy country gravy recipe is one for the books.
I grew up with a mom who made gravy at every dinner meal. My parents didn’t have a lot of money so Mom’s thinking was that she needed to fill our bellies with as much as she could with the little that she had.
As a mom now myself, and with our every growing family, we eat the gravy. Usually on our deer steaks but we definitely eat it with biscuits and gravy.
And although I use whatever sausage I have on hand, deer breakfast sausage is my fave. Very little grease and ooh-la-la, that flavor. As I tell one of my little granddaughters it’s “yum to tum.”
I consider myself to be a good cook. Actually I consider myself to be a GREAT cook. But I have BEEN KNOWN to over season things once or twice. Maybe THREE times. Possibly FOUR, but no more than that, depending on who you ask.
We live and then we learn…sometimes the hard way
However, there might have been this one time that, ironically enough, it was opening morning of rifle season and we had a whole KITCHEN FULL of people. We had all just come in from our morning hunt and I was going to make biscuits and gravy for everyone.
A little back story. My father-in-law, who was there that morning also, had just had a heart attack the year before and had three, I believe, stints put in. He was watching his diet, sodium in particular.
That morning my cooking skills were on display because there were a couple of people that I didn’t really know that well. I was in performance mode.
We all know what happens to us when all eyes are on us, at least for me. I tried way to hard to impress and ended up, ACCIDENTALLY, putting too much salt in the gravy. I tried to mask it with more milk but that didn’t dilute it enough.
I served it like that hoping no one would notice. But they did, althought they did a REALLY great job of pretending it was edible. I watched each and every face as they took that first bite.
No one said a word, except for my father-in-law. He took that first bite and said, “Damn, Kelly! Are you trying to give me another heart attack? That gravy’s salty.” With that, everyone laughed. Even me. But even today, when I make this recipe, I hold that salt shaker in a little bit different position so that I don’t add too much.
For the record, I like salt.
My creamy country gravy recipe is really simple and one that you’re going to want to keep in your recipe arsenal. It’s so easy and has so few ingredients. Because it’s a favorite recipe in our family I wanted to share it with you.
Creamy Country Gravy Recipe
1/2 Cup Canola Oil (I don’t think olive oil would work)
1/2 to 3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
4 Cups Milk
In a large skillet (because there will end up being so much) heat the oil over a medium heat.
Carefully whisk in flour, pepper, and salt. I usually put my flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl separately and blend it first before adding it.
Stir until smooth, making sure it’s blended well and browned.
Gradually stir in the milk and stir, stir, stir making sure there are no lumps forming. It will bubble some but keep stirring until its the consistency that you desire and then take off the heat.
Moms really do always know best
One thing my mom taught me about making gravy, and believe it or not it was the ONLY thing she let me cook as a child (except macaroni and cheese out of the box) was that you have to stir CONTINUALLY. Because if you don’t it will clump up on the bottom of the skillet and be lumpy, not smooth.
I want to also say that when I make this recipe for biscuits and gravy I brown up some sausage before hand and add it in WHILE the gravy is being cooked.
So…listen to me, but especially listen to my mama. She put the “good” in being a good cook.
