How To Fix Lumpy Gravy—and Prevent It From Happening Again (2024)

FAQs

How To Fix Lumpy Gravy—and Prevent It From Happening Again? ›

Give It a Whirl in a Food Processor

For a really smooth gravy, be sure to use a fine-mesh sieve to keep any small lumps from going back into the gravy. Just use your whisk or a spoon (Epicurious calls for a rubber spatula) to press the gravy through the smaller holes of the mesh if you need to speed things up.

Add Cornstarch or Arrowroot

Instead, make a slurry by mixing a tablespoon or two of the starch with just enough gravy to form a thin paste, stirring well to get the slurry smooth and lump-free before whisking it into the gravy.

If your gravy looks curdled or has an oily top layer, it's likely the emulsion of flour and fat that thickens the mixture has split or broken. Fix it by adding a splash of warm water or two and whisking vigorously to restore the balance of liquid and fat.

If the sauce has just a few lumps, use a balloon whisk and whisk vigorously to break the lumps up. Use a food processor, blender or immersion blender to whizz those lumps out of sight. Return to heat and whisk until warmed through.

Use two tablespoons flour mixed with ¼ cup cold water for each cup of medium-thick sauce. Thoroughly mix in the water to prevent lumps.

How to Fix It. Simmer the gravy over medium-high heat, allowing the liquid to reduce. If your gravy is still too thin, add a beurre manié (French for kneaded butter): Make a paste of equal parts flour and room-temperature unsalted butter, and add it a little at a time, whisking constantly, until the gravy thickens.

How to Fix Thick or Gloppy Gravy. The longer you simmer gravy, the thicker it will become, and it's easy to end up with a thick, gloppy gravy. The fix here is super simple: whisk in a little more broth or water until it's thinned to the desired consistency.

The Fix Is Simple—Add Water Back.

Here's how fix a broken sauce: Add about ¼ cup of water to the pan and reheat the sauce to a vigorous simmer, whisking constantly. The bubbling action will help re-emulsify the butter and bring back that thick, glossy sauce.

Give It a Whirl in a Food Processor

Here's a high-tech lumpy gravy fix: Pour the gravy into a food processor or blender. Press liquefy or whip on a blender; for a food processor, turn it to "on" (not pulse) and use the spinning of the blades to get lumps out of gravy.

What causes lumpy sauce? ›

Bits of flour that have not completely mixed with the fat are what make a roux lumpy. This can be fixed by cooking the fat/flour mixture for a minute or two, stirring constantly and then slowly adding your liquid. I find that an equal amount of flour and butter paired with cold or room temperature broth works best.

Roux sauce methods

Sieve the flour before adding it to the fat to help avoid forming lumps. Remember to use fat and plain flour in approximately equal quantities. If you would like a thicker sauce, for example, for making custard or béchamel sauce, then use corn flour instead.

If your gravy is looking watery, you can add a slurry (a mixture of cornstarch/flour and water) or a roux (a mixture of flour and butter) to thicken it up. Other pantry ingredients like Wondra (an instant flour), arrowroot, tapioca, and potato starch can also be used to thicken gravy to a deliciously silky consistency.

The longer you simmer gravy, the thicker it will become, and it's easy to end up with a thick, gloppy gravy. The fix here is super simple: whisk in a little more broth or water until it's thinned to the desired consistency.

And then you end up with more gravy than you actually needed. The 2nd load of granules never dissolve fully. By adding the granules first and adding water slowly, the friction of the granules passing over each other with low moisture content will break down the granules as they are stirred, which means no lumps.