How Do You Season Gravy?

Season gravy at the end, not the beginning: build it on real pan drippings or good stock, thicken it, then season with salt, black pepper and garlic a little at a time and taste between every shake. Gravy tastes bland for one of two reasons: it was built on water instead of drippings, or it was salted before it reduced and nobody tasted it again. A pinch of thyme or sage, a splash of something acidic and a knob of butter stirred in off the heat fix most of the rest.

That is the short answer. Below: the order that works, how much to use, the three Flavor Seed blends that fit, and how to rescue a gravy ten minutes before dinner.

Why gravy tastes bland

Gravy is flavor plus fat plus a thickener plus liquid. Take away the flavor part, the browned bits and drippings in the roasting pan, and you are left with thickened broth. That is why gravy from a carton of stock and a spoon of flour tastes like a school cafeteria no matter how much salt goes in. The brown stuff stuck to the pan is the whole point. Scrape it up.

The second reason is timing. Gravy reduces as it simmers, so salt added early gets stronger by the minute. Season near the end, in small amounts, tasting as you go, and both problems disappear.

The order that works

Pour the drippings into a measuring cup and let the fat rise. Spoon three tablespoons of that fat back into the pan over medium heat, whisk in three tablespoons of flour and cook it two minutes until it smells nutty. Slowly whisk in two cups of drippings-and-stock, scraping the browned bits off the bottom as you go. Simmer five minutes until it coats a spoon.

Now season. Start with half a teaspoon of a salted blend, whisk, taste. Add pepper. Taste again. Then a tiny pinch of thyme or sage if the drippings were from poultry, and a teaspoon of something sharp, like cider vinegar or a squeeze of lemon, which wakes the whole thing up without tasting sour. Finish with a tablespoon of cold butter off the heat. It makes the gravy glossy and rounds off the salt.

How much seasoning for two cups of gravy

If the drippings are salted (they usually are, from a brined or well-seasoned bird), start with a quarter teaspoon of a salted blend per two cups and work up. Unsalted stock with few drippings can take a full teaspoon or more. A salt-free blend can go in at a full teaspoon from the start. Whatever you use, add it in halves and taste between them. Gravy is easy to over-season and hard to un-season, so the tasting spoon is your friend.

The three Flavor Seed blends that fit gravy

For turkey or chicken gravy: Anything With Wings. Sea salt and organic garlic lead the label, then coriander, onion and black pepper, with cumin, basil, cayenne, oregano and ginger behind them. It is the blend we season the bird with, so the gravy and the turkey taste like they came from the same kitchen. If the turkey already wore it, go easy; the drippings carry it. For the classic sage note, add a pinch of rubbed sage on its own, since there is no sage on the Anything With Wings label.

For beef, pork or pot-roast gravy: The OG. Sea salt, organic garlic, organic black pepper. Three ingredients, which is exactly what a brown gravy wants, because the drippings are already doing the talking. Whisk in a pinch, taste, repeat. Keep it by the stove for the mashed potatoes too.

For a no-added-salt gravy: Zilch. Nada. None. Fourteen organic herbs and spices and no salt at all: onion and garlic first, then turmeric, paprika, celery seed and coriander, with thyme, dill, parsley and a little cayenne further down. It gives gravy the savory depth that usually comes from salt, so you can decide how much salt goes in, or whether any does. It is the blend that runs through our low-sodium Thanksgiving plate, and gravy is where it earns its keep.

Gravy without drippings

Sometimes there are no drippings: the turkey was smoked, the ham came glazed, or you are making gravy a day ahead. Melt three tablespoons of butter in a skillet, add half a chopped onion and cook it slowly until deep brown, about ten minutes. That browned onion is your flavor. Then flour, then stock, then seasoning as above. It will not be pan gravy, but it will be good gravy, and nobody at the table has ever asked for the difference.

Fixing gravy that went wrong

Bland: a pinch of salt first, then a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon, then taste again. Too salty: whisk in more unsalted stock or a splash of cream. Lumpy: pour it through a fine strainer. Too thin: simmer it longer, or stir in a teaspoon of cornstarch whisked into cold water. Too thick: more stock, a little at a time. Gray and dull: a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of pepper off the heat.

If you are seasoning the whole bird as well, here is how we season a turkey so the drippings are worth building on.

Quick answers

What seasonings go in turkey gravy?

Salt, black pepper and garlic are the base, with a little onion, thyme or sage for the classic Thanksgiving taste. Most of the flavor should come from the turkey drippings; the seasoning just finishes it. A poultry blend built on sea salt, garlic, onion and black pepper covers it in one shake.

How do you fix bland gravy?

Taste it first. Usually it needs salt, so add a pinch and taste again. If it is salted enough and still flat, add a teaspoon of cider vinegar or lemon juice and a tablespoon of butter off the heat. If it was made with water instead of stock or drippings, simmer it with a spoon of browned onion or a splash of good stock.

Can you make gravy ahead of time?

Yes. Make it up to two days ahead with stock and browned onion and refrigerate it. Reheat slowly, whisking, then stir in the day-of drippings and a final pinch of seasoning right before it goes to the table.

Every Flavor Seed blend is USDA Certified Organic, gluten-free and kosher, with no MSG, no fillers and no anti-caking agents, mixed in small batches by our family in Charlotte, North Carolina. Orders over $25 ship free.