Sauce
How to make gravy: flour or cornstarch
Make gravy with a flour roux or a cornstarch slurry: ratios from extension sources, how to deglaze the fond, and how to fix thin or lumpy gravy.
Published
01
What
University of Wyoming Extension describes gravy as a sauce from fat, a thickener (flour or cornstarch), and liquid — often meat drippings plus stock, or milk for white gravy. Brown bits stuck to the pan after roasting or searing are fond; they are the flavor base.
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Why (ELI5)
ELI5
Flour or cornstarch mixed into liquid and heated gelatinizes: starch granules swell and the sauce thickens. A roux cooks flour in fat first; a slurry mixes cornstarch with cool liquid before it hits the pan. Deglazing dissolves browned fond into the liquid so the gravy has flavor, not just thickness.
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How
Deglaze the fond first
Wyoming Extension: add a small amount of liquid (broth, stock, juice, wine, or water) to the hot pan and scrape as it sizzles so the brown bits lift. That liquid becomes part of the gravy. More on deglazing: how to make a pan sauce after searing.
Flour roux (opaque gravy)
Wyoming Extension’s classic ratio is 3 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons fat, and 1 cup hot liquid. Warm the fat, whisk in flour until it looks like wet sand (about 1–2 minutes), then add hot liquid gradually — about ½ cup first — whisking out lumps before the rest. Simmer until it coats a spoon.
Illinois Extension notes flour makes a cloudy, opaque sauce and suits fat-based sauces; roughly 2 tablespoons of flour thicken 1 cup of liquid.
Cornstarch slurry (glossy, gluten-free)
- 01Deglaze the pan and collect drippings plus stock to about the liquid you need.
- 02Choose flour roux or cornstarch slurry.
- 03Whisk, simmer until it coats a spoon, then taste before salting.
Wyoming Extension: heat the liquid first. Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1–2 tablespoons cool water into a slurry, then whisk it into the hot liquid until it thickens. Cornstarch has about twice the thickening power of flour (Illinois Extension: 1 Tbsp cornstarch ≈ 2 Tbsp flour per cup). It makes a shinier, clearer gravy. Wyoming Extension says flour gravy is much better for reheating; cornstarch gravy can turn thinner.
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