Why is my gravy pale, and how do I get a deep brown colour?
The four real sources of colour in gravy, why three of them also taste of something and one does not, and what to do about a beige gravy that is already in the pan.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 15 min
- Read
- 4 min
Short answer
Beige gravy nearly always means the roux was not browned and the roasting residue was not scraped up. Colour that tastes of something comes from the fond in the tin, from deeply browned onions, from a nut-brown roux and from cooked-out tomato purée. Browning liquid adds colour only.
There is a difference between a gravy that is brown and a gravy that has been browned. Both look the same in the jug; only one tastes like it took effort. Nearly every good source of colour is also a source of flavour, because both come from the same browning reactions — which is why chasing colour with a bottle produces a gravy that looks right and tastes hollow.
Step by step
- Scrape the roasting tin properly — this is the biggest single source.The dark sticky residue welded to the base of the tin is caramelised meat and vegetable juices, and it is both the darkest and the most flavourful thing available. Put the tin over a low heat, add liquid, and scrape with a wooden spoon until the base is clean.
- Take the roux to a nut brown before the liquid goes in.Most home gravy uses a roux cooked for a minute, which is pale and gives a beige sauce. Keep stirring for four or five minutes and it goes from foaming white through sand to the colour of a digestive biscuit. Remember that a darker roux thickens less, so use slightly more of it.
- Brown onions properly if you have no fond.Twenty-five minutes over a medium-low heat until they are genuinely dark and sticky. Softened onions add sweetness; browned onions add colour and roasted depth. This is the main lever in a vegetarian gravy.
- Cook out a tablespoon of tomato purée until it darkens.Two minutes in the hot fat, stirring, until it turns from bright red to brick and starts to catch. It contributes colour, sweetness and glutamate at once, and it is the cheapest improvement available.
- Deglaze with something dark.Red wine, port, dark ale, Madeira or a spoonful of soy sauce. Reduce it until syrupy before the stock goes in, or the gravy tastes raw and boozy. Soy is the fastest of these and brings salt, so account for it when seasoning.
- Use browning last, and sparingly, if you still need it.Gravy browning is caramelised sugar and salt. It supplies colour and nothing else, and too much makes gravy taste faintly bitter and sweet at once. A few drops to lift an otherwise good gravy is legitimate; using it instead of browning is not.
- Check the light before you decide it is pale.Gravy looks paler in a thin layer and in a white jug. Look at it on a spoon against the light, and remember it darkens as it reduces.
Tips
- Roast the joint on a bed of thickly sliced onion, carrot and celery. They caramelise under the meat and give you a dark, sweet base for nothing.
- A dry roasting tin makes better fond than a wet one. Adding water or stock to the tin during roasting stops the residue caramelising.
- If the tin is scorched black rather than dark brown, taste before using it. Genuinely burnt fond is bitter and it will not improve.
- Bisto and similar granules are largely browned flour, salt and colouring. A teaspoon whisked into a homemade gravy for colour is a reasonable compromise if the alternative is a bottle of browning.
If it doesn't work
Pale and thin, made from tin juices
Cause: The fond was never scraped up — the liquid was poured in and out again — Fix: Return everything to the tin over a low heat and scrape the base hard with a wooden spoon until nothing is stuck.
Pale but thick
Cause: White roux, no browning at any stage — Fix: Cannot be undone in the finished gravy. Add depth instead: cooked-out tomato purée, a splash of soy, browned onions from another pan, a spoonful of Marmite.
Dark but tastes thin and slightly bitter
Cause: Colour came from gravy browning rather than from browning — Fix: Add savour — a reduction of wine, soy, mushroom stock, a spoonful of redcurrant jelly to balance the bitterness. Use less browning next time.
Grey rather than brown
Cause: Roasting at too low a temperature, or a covered joint that steamed rather than roasted, so there was no browning to collect — Fix: Build the colour separately in a pan with onions, purée and a dark roux, then combine.
Questions people ask
What is gravy browning made of and is it worth using?
It is caramel — sugar cooked until it is dark and bitter, dissolved in water with salt, and sometimes with a little starch. It contributes colour, a small amount of bitterness and nothing else. A few drops to adjust a gravy you are otherwise happy with is fine. Using it as your source of colour gives a gravy that looks like a restaurant one and tastes like water.
Does the colour actually affect the taste?
The colour itself does not, but everything that legitimately produces it does. Fond, browned onions, a dark roux and cooked-out tomato purée are all products of the Maillard reaction and caramelisation, which create hundreds of new aroma compounds. That is why a properly browned gravy tastes deeper as well as looking darker, and why colouring alone cannot imitate it.