by Barbara Combs Williams

Created on: July 14, 2009

Delicious, tasty, good to the last drop gravy is the kind that runs down over the thick juicy steak and pools into the mashed potatoes. To do this it has to have some spill ability, some elasticity, some run-off if you will and to be able to do that, it must be runny. Rich brown gravy with just enough pepper to spice it up, looks inviting and appealing. It runs around the plate and pools into the many small wells and craters that your starches leave on your platter. I can't use the word runs or runny enough, because that spells out the most prominent thing about great gravy, it must have some liquidity. Ever hear the phrase, "she looked so good, that I wished I had a biscuit, cause I would sop her up like gravy." I know, it's corny, but you get the idea. You got to have something runny to sop up with a biscuit.

To run down the sides of my massive mound of buttery potatoes, to spill over the boundaries of my herbal infused rice, oh yes, to slide almost off the plate of a slice of succulent roast beef, you got to have the consistency of slightly thick warm syrup. I prefer, no demand that my gravy not only has these characteristics, but I need to have it dark golden brown in color also. Good runny gravy is a sauce and a good sauce compliments whatever it sits atop, not distract from. I believe that the color also adds to the perception of thickness and white gravy just looks heavy, thick, tasteless and sludgy to begin with.

Thick white gravy is almost indistinguishable form the mashed potatoes that it is topping. Who has the time or wish to search in vain for a mouthful of white gravy, only to find that you only taste potatoes because the thick white gravy ended up beside the potatoes in a cold congealed lump? How so very unappealing and unappetizing. That biscuit can't even begin to sop at that thick, gelatinous mush of overweight gravy.

If I must say so, I can cook up a delightful pan of gravy. You have to start with the pan drippings from whatever meat and yes, you only get good gravy from fat, from protein, from meat. Brown that meat up, better yet, fry it up and use a little of that browned little bits and pieces that stick to the bottom of the pan as your base. Leave a little of the cooking fat also. It's full of the spices and flavor that you seasoned the meat with. Remove that meat, that browned, flour coated protein onto another platter, maybe leave a little piece for the sauce and now on to thickening. I prefer to use a little more flour, some like corn starch, either way, you need a thickening agent. Folks in New Orleans call it a roux, but whatever, brown it up and then thin it out with enough liquid to get a nice browned runny consistency. Clear, but deep brown in color, spicy and hot. Great Goodness, that's good eating.

Runny gravy, delightfully browned and seasoned is the compliment to any great dish. It sits atop the potatoes in a well defined sink hole or floats majestically down the sides as if to say, "see me, respect me, I rule this plate, see my flow, see me run."

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