All Aboard the Gravy Train

Gravy isn’t just for land-based meats either. It’s all-inclusive like that. This gravy features our favourite pink friends from the sea and creates a deliciously savoury gravy, with the bacon bits adding that crunchy, salty contrast. Shrimp gravy goes down a treat with mashed potatoes, rice or crumbly bread. Let’s sea about making it:

Ingredients:

500g small shrimp, peeled and deveined

6 slices bacon

¼  cup all-purpose flour

1½  cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

¼ cup chopped green pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

⅛ teaspoon pepper

Instructions:

1. Mix together shrimp, salt, pepper and ½ teaspoon of garlic powder in a bowl then set aside.

2. Cook bacon in a skillet, then drain and remove, reserving drippings in the pan. Crumble bacon and set aside.

3. Add flour to pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until browned

4. Add onion, celery and green pepper, then simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Add shrimp, ½ teaspoon of garlic powder to skillet, adding water until covered.

6. Cook over medium heat until desired consistency.

7. Add crumbled bacon then serve.

A staple of Tex-Mex cooking, chili gravy is smoky, earthy and very dark. Usually found drizzled over enchiladas, this slightly spicy sauce is like a warm hug for both your tummy and your taste buds. As such, it goes great over pretty much everything. The perfect match though? Tex-Mex style poutine with cheesy french fries. Here’s how you make the gravy:

Ingredients

¼ cup lard or vegetable oil

¼ cup flour

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1½ teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

½ teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 cups chicken broth

Instructions:

1. Heat the lard or oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. 

2. Stir in flour and continue stirring until light brown.

3. Add remaining dry ingredients and continue to cook for one minute, stirring constantly. 

4. Add broth, stirring as sauce thickens. 

5. Turn heat to low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

Like Uncle Ben said: “With gravy power comes gravy responsibility.” So it’s your duty this festive season to share some seriously tasty gravy with your friends and family (and your mashed potatoes). We know we’ll be doing the same. Now, could you pass the gravy?