5 Minute GAPS Gravy

I love gravy. And it turns out gravy is really, really good for you. That’s a good thing because I love gravy on my mashed potatoes, with roasted meat, and with biscuits. Heck, I’ll eat gravy with just about anything!

And hello, people! It’s almost Thanksgiving! What is Thanksgiving without gravy?

But gravy can be a pain to make. Especially if you are on the GAPS diet and can’t add flour to make gravy. Adding flour to broth is the fast, easy way to make gravy.

The old fashioned way of making gravy is to make a reduction sauce.

I think reduction sauces taste better, and they are a lot healthier, since you’re getting more concentrated broth — and you don’t need to add flour.

How to Keep Homemade Broth in the Fridge to Make Fast Gravy

Since I’ve been reading about all the benefits of bone broth (helps prevent/reverse cellulite and wrinkles — isn’t that enough?!) and since Seth is on the GAPS Diet, I like to have broth in the fridge 24/7.

I used to store it in the freezer but I don’t have the room anymore that we are in Vegas in a rented condo.

So here’s what I do: I just reduce the homemade broth until it is very concentrated. I usually reduce it in half, but you can reduce it by 2/3 or 3/4 if you like. This is the magic of broth! You can reduce it or add water to it for whatever your purpose.

Next I add some gelatin. Stir it in until it’s dissolved. The store in the fridge — it will be just like jello. When your broth has a lot of gelatin in it, it will keep a lot longer in the fridge. (The photo above is what my concentrated gellied broth looks like in the fridge.)

Now I have broth whenever I need it and I don’t have to worry about it going bad. I can just take a little bit of the concentrated broth gel out and put it in a saucepan while I’m making dinner. I just reduce it a little more and I have instant gravy!

It’s important that you DO NOT add salt to your broth when you make it. That way you can reduce it ad infinitum and you won’t get super-salty gravy.

Recipe Notes

I say this is 5 minute gravy. It really is this fast and easy, folks! However, if you are making a lot of gravy, it will take a little longer than 5 minutes.

NEVER walk away from a reduction sauce. One minute it’s bubbling away nicely and the next you’ve got a pan full of black char. (I know this from experience.)

If you are roasting a turkey, chicken, or other meat, you can use the pan drippings in your gravy. Simply pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the roasting pan and discard. Set the roasting pan on a burner or across 2 burners, add a little stock and turn the heat on high to “deglaze” the pan (in other words, get all the meaty bits off). Then add this stock with added pan drippings to your gravy.

Ingredients

Duck, chicken or beef stock, ideally homemade, UNSALTED (1 cup, or 1/2 cup concentrated stock — see above)
Butter, ghee, grass-fed, or bacon fat, lard, duck fat or coconut oil (1-2 TBS)
Sea salt (to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Equipment

Saucepan
Gravy boat

Directions

1. In a saucepan, add 1 cup of homemade chicken or beef stock or 1/2 cup of concentrated stock (see my notes above on how to store gellied stock in the fridge.)
2. Set burner on high and bring to a boil. Cook down (reduce) until it’s as thick as you like (it should coat the back of a spoon).
3. Stir in the butter or ghee (if you are dairy-free, use lard, duck fat, or coconut oil or instead).
4. Pour the gravy into a gravy boat and serve.