Good gravy! Try these tasty tater toppings

Back during my high school days, there was a rotating menu of foods available in the cafeteria. The ones that stick in my mind the most all these years later is that Tuesdays were hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes and Thursdays were turkey gravy over mashed potatoes. As I recall, the turkey gravy day was the more popular of the two, with staff from other locations coming by for lunch as well as the on-site crew. While I don’t know how much of it was prepared every week, I’m pretty sure you won’t need the big steam-jacketed kettle that could hold a full side of beef the cafeteria used while I was there.

I chopped up a few carrots, celery ribs, and half an onion and put them into a large pot with a bit of butter. I cooked down the veggies until they had browned nicely. While this was happening, I had a smoked turkey carcass in the fridge, so I took a part of it and added it to the pot, then filled it up with cold water to cover the bones. I then brought it up to a boil, then reduced the temperature to a simmer and then let the pot go until the water had reduced by half, which was a about an hour. I then strained out all of the bones and veggies. I returned the liquid to the pot and then returned it to a low boil to reduce the water even further, to about half again. Now I had a concentrated and flavorful stock to use to make up a gravy.

Don’t have a turkey? Substitute a cooked chicken. Don’t have a cooked chicken? You could use a few chicken wings, or a thigh or two. If I did it that way, I would pick off the cooked meat from the chicken after straining, chop it finely, and then add it back to my gravy. If there are pan drippings available, by all means add those too.

A note about gravy: I would rather not use a flour-based thickener, as I feel the flour mutes part of the flavor of the gravy. I prefer to use a bit of cornstarch stirred into cold water, and then stirred into the hot stock. I’ll use a ratio of one tablespoon of cornstarch mixed into two tablespoons of water per one cup of hot liquid to thicken.

I’ve also used turkey skin and bones and simmered them in a few cups of heavy cream, to the point that the cream is reduced by half. I’ll then remove the pot from the heat, take the bones out and place them in a colander, and allow them to drip back into the pot. This way needs far less thickener than a stock-based gravy, so I would use half the amount of thickener per cup.

If I’m going to make hamburger gravy, I will cook my beef to a point where some crispy parts are starting to appear in the pan. Just cooking the beef to a point where it is just cooked through isn’t enough for me. I want more intense flavor, so I allow some serious browning to happen. If you’re inclined to serve Hamburger Helper in your house, cooking the beef to where it starts to crisp will give the final dish a much better flavor, versus just cooking the meat through.

TURKEY GRAVY

4 cups turkey stock (or chicken)

Pan drippings (if available)

4 tablespoons cornstarch

8 tablespoons water

2 cups diced cooked turkey

Salt and pepper to taste

Place stock in a large pot with any pan drippings and bring to a boil. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water together until cornstarch is dissolved. Pour into stock and stir. Turn off heat to pot and remove from heat. Continue to stir, until the gravy gets no thicker. Stir in cooked turkey. Check the flavor and adjust with salt and pepper as desired.

HAMBURGER GRAVY

2 pounds hamburger

4 cups beef stock

4 tablespoons cornstarch

8 tablespoons water

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, cook the hamburger until cooked through, breaking it apart into small bits. Continue to cook until edges of beef start to turn crispy. Remove from heat. If you used a higher-fat beef, there may be a bit of extra fat to remove. Carefully remove the fat either by spooning it out, while leaving juices in the pan, or pouring the whole pot into a colander set over a bowl. Then you can more easily remove some of the fat. Place the hamburger back into the pot and add the stock. Bring to a boil. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water together until cornstarch is dissolved. Pour into stock and stir. Turn off heat to pot and remove from heat. Continue to stir, until the gravy gets no thicker. Check the flavor and adjust with salt and pepper as desired.

MASHED POTATOES

3 large potatoes, peeled and cut up

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/4 to 1/2 cup cream

1/8 cup grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese

3 tablespoons butter

Salt and white pepper to taste

Bring the potatoes and garlic in water to cover to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender. Remove from the heat; drain. Place in a mixing bowl and beat until the potatoes are smooth. Add half of the cream and remaining ingredients. Beat until smooth. Add more cream to achieve desired consistency. Adjust seasonings.