any Cracker Barrel gravy recipes?

[nekshot]

my pa/dutch upbringing goes blank on how to make gravy that tastes like good hickory smoke gravy. Any recipes from the folks below the mason/dixon line?

[DougGuy]

Thread topic says Cracker Barrel gravy, LOL their Sawmill gravy is lame as it gets. It tastes like flour, water, and black pepper. This is the only "brown" gravy they offer. What a pity.

Usually drippings from a pot roast would be stirred with a little water and flour mixture until it's thickened, then add salt and pepper, and if it isn't "beefy" tasting enough add a little beef flavored Better Than Bouillon from the jar. If you needed hickory smoke flavoring, the Liquid Smoke seasoning would do that, it really is condensed from real smoke but very intense so go easy with it to get the taste you need.

[Char-Gar]

In Texas there are two kinds of gravy, milk and water, or white and brown. Flour/white gravy is what they call Sawmill gravy in parts of the south. It is basically flour, milk, and seasonings according to taste. It should be thick and not like water. Most folks use some black pepper on top, but some folks also sprinkle the top with chili powder.

Water/brown gravy is pretty much as Doug Guy explained.

Milk/white gravy is used on chicken and biscuits. Brown/water gravy is used on red meats.

What Cracker Barrel calls Sawmill gravy is white/milk gravy but a poor expression of the same.

[timspawn]

I make biscuts and gravy all the time. Brown 1lb of sausage in a skillet. Pork is the best, beef next, then deer. You need the fat. I use about two tablespoons of flour. Mix the meat,flour and liquid fat (grease) until it become like a paste. Add milk a little at a time until it comes to a boil. Less milk will make it thicker. More milk makes it thinner. This will be a white gravy that is obviously for breakfast. Brown gravy is just drippings (fat) from your meat of choice along with flour and a little milk. I have never used water.

I avoid Cracker Barrel. Everyone I have ever been in is very loud and they do not serve beer.

[Shiloh]

http://www.food.com/recipe/cracker-b...-request-96921
http://www.recipelion.com/Restaurant...-Sawmill-Gravy

Shiloh

[Garyshome]

But I have a $40.00 gift card for crapper barrel.

[dragon813gt]

Can't help w/ the Cracker Barrel recipe but I can give a tip on making gravy. Instead of using white flour use potato flour. Doesn't impart a bland flavor. It's also ground a lot finer so mixing it in is a lot easier. When I make anything the crock pot I add just enough potato flour to the stock to thicken it up. Tastes a lot better than if made w/ white flour.

[nekshot]

Thanks fellas, lgnorance is bliss because I always get biscuits and gravy at Cracker Barrel! You all gave me some tips to improve this gravy thing. My background is kinda bland until the baking starts then its sugar by the wheel barrow(just kidding)!

[gwpercle]

Couple of tips for gravy making. Of course there are several kinds of gravy, so it all depends on what you're cooking, but, to get a good tasting gravy a meat needs to be involved with a hot skillet and some oil if the meat is lean. The fat and browned bits from the skillet add flavor. Next is the roux, browned flour in the oil/fat ....you have to cook it , stirring constantly, until it reaches the color you want your gravy. A light brown for a sausage/biscuit milk gravy or a deep dark brown for a brown/meat gravy. You have to cook the roux until it develops a cooked nutty flavor. Raw flour taste is not good. Don't burn the roux, it will taste burn't and nothing will save it.
The darker the roux, the more intense the flavor...but stopping short of the burn't taste is tricky.
We generally stop the browning process by adding chopped onions , stirring and removing from the heat. Hot roux is called Cajun napalm , don't get it on your skin, it burns!
A little cheating with Kitchen Bouquet ( adds brown color and flavor) is OK...I use it.
The only way to learn is to get out them pots and pans and whip up a batch of meat and gravy.
Good luck
Gary
Monday night I fixed pork chops, with rice and brown gravy

[Dale in Louisiana]

Oh, good grief! Gravy.

Fry bacon or sausage or ham. When it's done, remove it and survey the fat left in the pan. You need three tablespoons of fat. If you don't have that, dip into your stash of saved bacon grease or use butter, but add enough to get that three tablespoons of fat. Add a quarter-cup of flour. With the pan over heat, stir the flour and grease together until well incorporated and the flour changes color slightly. Now, add milk. You're gonna add at least a cup, maybe a cup and a half. Continue stirring, mixing the fat and flour (you've made a roux, but don't tell everybody. It makes some folks nervous and your buddies may talk) with the milk until smooth. continue stirring over medium-low heat until it starts bubbling, at which time it will thicken. Taste. Add salt and black pepper (I like LOTS of black pepper) to taste. Turn the heat to low, keeping it warm. Dump by spoonfuls over hot biscuits.

dale in Louisiana.

[redriverhunter]

I have to say my farther in laws is the best
cheap pork sausage
one stick of real butter
flour
whole milk
fry sausage use a potato masher while frying to get sausage into little bits, leave all meat and grease in pan, when almost cooked add butter melt and stir in, then add milk then flour. I can not give you the amount of milk and flour because as it was put to me ''got to eye ball it".
Good stuff
rrh

[Houndog]

Dale in Lousianna has got it right! That's the way to make real gravy! there's another recipe we use here in Tennessee to make red eye gravy from country ham. You simply use the grease from the Ham and pour in a little Coffee! You stir the mixture untill the grease quits puddling in the coffee. Serve it SPARINGLY over a cat head biscuit. It is salty, but the flavor is awesome! Don't tell your cardiologist about it though! He'll have a heart attack just hearing about it!

[bhn22]

Yum, redeye gravy. I can't help but notice that the gravy thread is populated all by... guys. Before it gets too warm this spring, I think I owe myself some dried beef gravy & biscuits. It's been forever since I've had it.

[MaryB]

If you are nervous about making gravy with flour you can thicken drippings/meat juices with corn starch also. Not quite as good but makes a very acceptable gravy(way I was taught, I taught myself to use a roux).

[TXGunNut]

Thanks fellas, lgnorance is bliss because I always get biscuits and gravy at Cracker Barrel! You all gave me some tips to improve this gravy thing. My background is kinda bland until the baking starts then its sugar by the wheel barrow(j.ust kidding)!

Cracker Barrel north of here has some awesome biscuits, ones from the CB south of here would make passable shotgun targets. They both do fine on corn muffins. Think I'm headed north for breakfast.

[freebullet]

I don't know how she does it but my wife makes excellent gravy, brown and white.

[Shiloh]

I like Cracker Barrel Other than breakfast we have soup and salad.
Shiloh

[w5pv]

Good post From Dale in La.That is spot on for gravy hummmm licking my chops now.