How to Cook Brown Sauce

Measure ingredients when you’re done grilling. The best sauces are usually made from gravy – the water and fat that comes out when the meat is grilled. It can be from beef, chicken, or roast turkey. When the barbecue is almost done, measure out the other ingredients and get the sauce ready:

• 2 tablespoons flour or cornstarch
• 2 cups warmed liquid (chicken/beef/vegetable broth, water, milk)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Remove the meat from the oven and set it aside. All grilled meats need to “rest” for about 5-10 minutes before slicing; so you will have a little time to cook the sauce. Use foil to cover the surface of the meat and place it on a cutting board while you process the gravy.

Strain the fat out of the gravy. Use a sieve with a small hole to filter the fat out of the gravy and retain both. Fat is like the butter used in the base sauce, which is mixed with flour to make a roux.

• To cook the sauce faster, you can skip this step and simply heat up 2 tablespoons of the gravy. However, crumbs of lard can make the sauce less smooth and even reduce the taste. ^[3]

Heat the fat on the stove over medium heat. Perhaps the fat is still warm, but this is necessary if you are pouring the gravy into another tray. However, you can also cook the sauce right in the baking tray. Just place the metal tray on the stove, add the fat and heat.

Dissolve the fat in the pan with some cooled liquid and stir with a whisk. Use some red wine, water, or broth and scrape off any brown meat and gravy from the surface of the baking sheet. As soon as the liquid is added, you will hear a sizzling sound and need to stir quickly with a whisk or spatula to remove any hard bits from the bottom of the pan.

• Fat dissolving means using cold liquid to clean hot pans, dissolving bits of clumped seasoning and then adding to sauces. ^[4]

Mix in 2 tablespoons of flour, one at a time. Add the flour slowly with one hand and use the other hand to mix the dough with a whisk. You need to create a smooth and thick sauce. Continue stirring until no more powder is left.

Slowly add 2 cups of the warmed liquid to the mixture and stir. Turn the stove down to low-medium heat and add 1/4 cup of liquid at a time. Stir well, dissolve the chunks and add another 1/4 cup of liquid. Use the sifted gravy first, then move on to other liquids if you don’t have 2 cups of gravy. Usually, people use broth or soup from chicken, beef or vegetables, but with rich sauces, you can use milk or cream for a richer taste. You can also mix and match by using one cup of each. Regardless of the type of liquid used, you need to warm it up first in another pan or in the microwave.

• If the gravy seems a bit loose, add 1 tablespoon of butter or fat and a little flour and mix well.

Cook mixture over low-medium heat for 10-15 minutes, or until desired consistency. Stir occasionally and simmer the sauce until thickened. However, you should keep in mind that all sauces thicken as they cool, so you should remove the pot from the heat 1-2 minutes before the sauce has the desired consistency.

Season with seasoning when the sauce has thickened. Since it’s made from gravy, this brown sauce will taste like the barbecue you’ve used up gravy. You can also add a little of the same spice mix to help enhance the flavor of the dish, or vary it with a variety of spices, such as:

• 1 teaspoon green herb, such as thyme, sage, tarragon, rosemary, parsley, or chives.
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder, bell pepper powder, ground chili pepper, dried mustard powder, onion powder and/or garlic powder.
• 1/2 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet or Worcestershire sauce for browning.
• Salt and pepper to taste. ^[5]

Strain the sauce before serving. Although this is not strictly necessary, you can pour the sauce through a strainer before serving to remove any scum and bits of meat. Simply pour the gravy into the sieve placed over the metal bowl, then stir with a wooden spoon to let the gravy drip down into the bowl. This will create a smooth, restaurant-standard sauce.