Why Your Gravy Tastes Burnt, And How To Fix It

So you've made a delicious roast, and you're about to make your gravy with all those lovely bits of meat, crispy skin, and juices that have caramelized in the pan. But what to do if they've charred a little too much? If you go ahead and make your gravy, what will the outcome be? Chances are it will taste burnt, and when you've gone to lots of effort to make the perfect meal, you don't want burnt gravy to spoil your painstakingly prepared food. Thankfully, Zest has some suggestions, when it comes to fixing it.

One tip is to add peanut butter. This sounds a little out there, but Zest explains that adding just a little at a time while tasting the gravy can mask the burnt flavor. Another tip is to add a raw potato to the gravy, it should absorb any bitterness and leave it tasting less burnt. One other way is to use sugar to counteract the bitterness that burnt gravy gives off. But, what to do if your gravy tastes so burnt that none of these suggestions will work?

If you've really burnt your gravy to the point where it can't be salvaged then your only option may be to make a new batch altogether. Luckily if you're making a thanksgiving meal, turkeys usually come with a pack of innards called giblets, made up of the heart, liver, and neck of the bird. Copas, a company that sells turkeys, states that giblets are perfect to use when making a tasty gravy.

Fry the giblets with some diced vegetables such as carrot, celery, and onion, then you can add these to stock to simmer until you have a flavorful gravy. Another way, according to Uncle Jerry's Kitchen, is to use beef tallow, or any fat rendered down from roasting meat – so goose fat would work well for turkey gravy. Use the fat in the same way you would use the meat juices by melting it down in some stock and thickening it however you would normally. If it seems lacking in flavor a little you could try combining both of these methods to get a real flavor punch.