I’m all for purisim, but finally diced mushrooms are often a nice addition.
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Does this work though if you use a thickener? Either flour or cornstarch tends to prevent fat separation even upon chilling. With chilled stock this works though.
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For turkey or goose gravy it’s much better if you brown the roux until it gets golden or a bit darker. I also separate the fat from the juice. The golden rule for gravy is equal parts fat & flour. Gravy master has a definite flavor & I only use it for beef gravy when I don’t have good drippings like for meatloaf. A little goes a long way so start with a tsp & add more if required.
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I use Kitchen Bouquet to darken the color of gravy, if necessary, and find it doesn’t have much flavor at all.
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You can also buy what is basically straight dark caramel “syrup” (cooked to the point where it’s no longer sweet at all) in some places- I’ve seen it Korean grocery stores and at Caribbean markets (usually labeled “browning” at the latter).
You can also make it at home, A very little goes a long way, but it also has a very long shelf life. Properly cooked past the “dark caramel” stage to point where it’s almost literally black, just before it starts to burn (but if you see more than the faintest wisp of smoke, you’ve gone too far), not only does it get hot enough to kill off virtually all known life forms, there’s basically nothing left in it capable of supporting any microbial life that does find its way into the bottle after it cools down.
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Funny, I can often get my jus and pan drippings to be tasty, but I have a terrible time thickening up my sauces. I usually go with the straight corn starch to avoid adding more fat (I also don’t usually strain beforehand), but even then, it will not really thicken. It only becomes slightly more viscous than straight liquid. This Thanksgiving I tried a beurre manie, and really let it cook up - used about 1/2 the ball – nothing. So I just leave my gravy a little runny; at least it tastes good.
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A knob of full fat cream cheese turns drippings into a small amount of fantastic sauce. Lowfat works. You might experiment with fat-free…
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