How To Fix Lumpy Gravy When You're About To Serve Dinner

Almost by definition, gravy is a bit of an afterthought — one of the last things you whip up once the roast is out of the oven and everybody's getting seated for dinner. That's especially true on a holiday like Thanksgiving, when you've spent all day sweating away in the kitchen, juggling turkeys and potatoes and Brussels sprouts, organizing oven space while making sure everything gets to the table hot. When it comes time to make the gravy, it's fair to say nobody's operating at peak performance — which makes this dish susceptible to error.

Just a few seconds' distraction from the constant work of whisking can spell the difference between a silken, luscious sauce and one filled with lumps. If you've got lumps, though, don't panic — no need to just yet. Unlike, say, a burned roux, this is a problem with a fix.



In fact, it has a number of fixes, depending on what gear you have around. The bottom line: Whether it's a food processor, a Vitamix, or an immersion blender, you can blend that gravy back into submission. The immersion blender is the easiest (you give it a blitz right there in the pan), but those other machines will work just as well.

Transfer the liquid, whir till smooth, and then return it to the heat. What if you have no gear, though? Maybe you're enjoying Thanksgiving in a cabin off the grid. Luckily there are also more lo-fi ways of fixing a lumpy gravy.

All the ways you can fix lumpy gravy Gravy is typically thickened with , ingredients that make the job easy. No need for any complicated tempering like you'd do with, say, an egg-thickened custard. But these ingredients are also prone to lumpiness.

If you get distracted and stop whisking, that thickener will stick to the bottom of the pan; forming clumps. Adding too much thickener, or adding it too quickly, can also lead to lumps, as can cooking the gravy too hot and fast. The blending method described above purees those little clumps back into the sauce.

If you're using a traditional blender, just make sure the lid and pour spout are both firmly on lest you spray scalding-hot sauce all over the kitchen. Without a machine, you've got two options. One is just to keep whisking as energetically as you can to try to break those lumps down.

This isn't surefire (though you'll get a good workout). Which is to say, it'll do in a pinch but you might not end up with a totally uniform gravy. A better option? Pass that gravy through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on it with the back of a spatula or wooden spoon to help work the liquid through the metal.

The sieve will catch the lumps while letting through the smooth, creamy liquid. Transfer it back to the stove if you need to keep cooking it. Just keep the pot on low, and remember to keep whisking this time.

How to prevent lumpy gravy Of course, an ounce of lump prevention is worth a pound of lump cure — isn't that the saying? The best strategy is to stop gravy lumps from forming in the first place. If you're thickening your gravy with flour, it's best to start with a roux: a mixture of fat (butter, oil, pan drippings) and flour that you'll cook just until you can't smell raw flour anymore, but not before it darkens (it's also good to use the ). Then, slowly pour hot stock into the roux and cook, whisking, till it thickens.

To make it thicker, you can add more flour. But sprinkle it on slowly, rather than dumping it in all at once, to prevent lumps from forming. With cornstarch, though, you don't want to sprinkle at all.

Rather, mix about a tablespoon of starch with a cup of (cool) liquid, either stock or water, then whisk till totally smooth — this is called a slurry. Pour that into the mixture of hot stock and pan drippings that make up your gravy, then whisk till it thickens. We keep saying "whisking," by the way, because that's another good way to avoid lumps.

Use a whisk rather than a wooden spoon and agitate the mixture constantly while it's thickening. And remember to have patience: If it feels like the gravy is thickening too slowly, resist the urge to crank the heat up. Like Thanksgiving dinner itself, this is a marathon, not a sprint.

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