How do I make gravy that isn't lumpy?
Lumps come from adding liquid too fast to dry flour — the order of operations is the whole technique.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 20 min
- Read
- 2 min
Short answer
Cook the flour in the fat for two minutes, then add liquid a splash at a time, whisking smooth before each addition. Lumps are not bad luck; they are liquid added faster than the flour can absorb it.
Gravy is a roux made in the roasting tin. Everything that goes wrong with it — lumps, floury taste, thinness — traces to one of two steps being rushed, and both take about a minute to do properly.
What you'll need
- Roasting tin with meat juices
- Plain flour
- Stock
- Whisk
- Sieve (optional)
Step by step
- Pour off most of the fat, keeping the browned bits.Tip the tin and spoon off the clear fat, leaving two or three tablespoons and everything stuck to the base. Those deposits are where the flavour is.
- Sprinkle flour over the fat and whisk it in.Roughly a tablespoon per 300ml of gravy you want. Whisk it into a smooth paste over a low heat.
- Cook the flour for two minutes.The step people skip, and the reason gravy can taste pasty. It should smell biscuity rather than raw.
- Add liquid a splash at a time.Stock, vegetable water or wine. A little, whisked completely smooth, then the next. This is where lumps form or do not — the first three additions matter most.
- Scrape the base as you go.The whisk should be lifting the browned deposits into the gravy. If they stay stuck, use a wooden spoon for a moment.
- Simmer for a few minutes to thicken.It thickens as it comes to a simmer, not before. Judge the consistency once it has bubbled.
- Season at the end.Stock and meat juices are already salty and it concentrates as it reduces. Taste, then season.
- Sieve it if it went wrong.Lumps are entirely recoverable — a sieve or a stick blender fixes them completely. Nobody will know.
Tips
- Make a gravy base days ahead from roasted vegetables and stock, then finish it with the roasting juices on the day. It removes the hardest job from the busiest moment.
- The water you boiled vegetables in makes better gravy than plain water and costs nothing.
- A splash of wine, cider or a spoonful of redcurrant jelly at the end lifts a flat gravy more than more salt will.
If it doesn't work
Lumpy
Cause: Liquid added too fast — Fix: Sieve it, or use a stick blender. Both work completely.
Tastes floury
Cause: Flour not cooked before liquid went in — Fix: Simmer it longer. Next time give the flour two minutes in the fat.
Too thin
Cause: Not enough flour, or not simmered — Fix: Simmer to reduce, or whisk in a little cornflour mixed with cold water.
Too thick
Cause: Too much flour — Fix: Whisk in more stock, a little at a time.
Questions people ask
How do I fix lumpy gravy?
Pass it through a sieve, or use a stick blender. Both remove the lumps completely, and nobody will be able to tell.
Why does my gravy taste of flour?
The flour was not cooked in the fat before liquid was added. Two minutes over a low heat removes the raw taste entirely.