The light on the side of the road flickered and caught my glance as I drove. The plastic, illuminated baby Jesus, Joseph and Mary formed a nativity scene that I have seen every single year for as long as I can remember. The length of time separating the car and myself makes the act of driving feel comforting in an alien sort of way. Absence does make the heart grow fonder. The Black Friday crowds are in full force at the mall, but the welcoming feeling of home pushes out any desire to shop.
Was it the ride on the Better Bus where I watched parts of “The Love Guru” and ate Fritos? Watching bad movies while traveling is a standard whenever Minnesota has reclamation of Truong. Maybe it was that paltry-but-consistent nativity scene that caught my eye for the 900th time. It certainly could have been accidentally flipping the radio to some phantom station and hearing Christmas music (which thoroughly creeped me out because I flipped away and then was unable to relocate the frequency).
Yes, all of these things could have indicated to me that the holiday season had indeed cometh, but none of them really and truly evoked that special feeling of dread and cheer that I’ve come to associate with spending lots of money on things in red and green color combinations.
It was undoubtedly the gravy. Thanksgiving at 3 p.m., and it finally hit me: We’ve reached the home stretch on our trip to planet spend. I was thankful for a lot of things that day, but mostly I was thankful for the delicious pool of flavor my mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey and green beans were taking a dip in.
Gravy is a sauce of English origin traditionally rendered from the juices of cooked meats. Though simple in its effect, the process of gravy production is more complex than appearances may suggest. For one thing, there are several different varieties of gravy intended for a multitude of purposes. My favorite non-holiday feast gravy is white gravy. It begins with fat from bacon or sausage and is salty and spiced enough to be just the right accoutrement to a big fluffy biscuit. Sausage and pepper are generally included in the hearty sauce. I’ll be enjoying a fatty serving of biscuits and gravy any time I’m suffering the effects of a hangover while sitting at the counter of some greasy spoon breakfast joint.
The process of sweating vegetables, most notably implemented with onions, is important in making non-meat gravies. Sweating is different than saut?ing in that the vegetables are cooked in a small amount of oil over longer periods of time and over lower heat. Sweating extracts the flavors and will eventually result in translucent or whitened vegetables. This is also different than the caramelizing process of heating the sugars in onions until they are oxidized and browned. These vegetable gravies are often combined with stock to produce the familiar texture and flavor gravy should have.
The two types of gravy most typically encountered (or emulated via packets of powder. Boo) by families gathering ’round the big table are God’s gravy and giblet gravy. God’s gravy is juice collected during the roasting process of a big piece of meat. The best juice comes from the joints of the animal. This, to me, is the highest echelon of sauce that gravy can occupy. I’ve only been privileged enough to have God’s gravy a few times in my life, but it has always been incredible. The sauce was so flavorful I didn’t even need to pour it over everything. It should be used pretty sparingly too; there is only so much juice that can be extracted from a limited amount of meat.
Giblet (pronounced like “Geoffrey” or “G.O.B.”) gravy is the kind that should be served with a bird. The giblets are the internal organs like the gizzard and heart that you would not rightly roast and serve to someone as a credible meal. But they can be utilized for the juices they contain. The giblets are chopped and stewed in a gravy base and add flavor to the whole endeavor. The meatiness of the giblet pieces is definitely consumable, and the morsels don’t need to be removed from the gravy once the desired flavor is fully realized. The result is delicious gravy with tiny bits of flavor throughout. Though it is kind of gross to think about, the mystery nuggets in giblet gravy burst with flavor that goes great with potatoes and fowl.
A word should also be said regarding roux. Roux is a mixture of fat, flour and water and is a popular gravy thickener that is also crucial in the creation of three base sauces in French cooking. A little flour mixed with either clarified butter or the liquid fat from meat make roux important not only as a thickener but also as a flavor enhancer.
Making excellent gravy is not unlike successfully getting laid. Smooth and consistent game works while trying too hard does not. Gravy is simple and delicious because it is basically pure flavor. The fatty juices of the meats or vegetables used are the whole show.
Finally, I would like to add that there are a plethora of gravy sauces out there that were not included in this column. Many come from Southern cooking, but they were omitted due to seasonal timing and want of space. Notably, egg gravy and Red-eye gravy are both excellent additions to the gravy repertoire that curious foodies are encouraged to look into. Happy holidays, Madison. Whatever you may be celebrating, yours truly will be hoping it results in a food coma.
Alex Truong is a junior majoring in economics and is a vocal advocate of garlic. Questions, comments and concerns can be sent to [email protected].
