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My mother said a woman who could not make gravy without lumps had no business frying chicken, and she said it in front of my husband’s mother, and that was a long Sunday. She was right about the gravy, though. Cream gravy is the plain white gravy of the Southern table, made in the skillet the chicken was fried in, and it went over the biscuits, over the mashed potatoes and over the chicken itself. There was never any left.
It has four things in it: the fat and browned bits left in the skillet, flour, milk, and salt and pepper. Two steps decide whether it is smooth or lumpy. The flour has to cook in the fat first, stirred until it goes the color of sand and smells like toast, because raw flour tastes like paste and that is why most gravy does. Then the milk has to go in cold, from the refrigerator, a little at a time, whisked smooth before the next splash. Cold milk into hot fat gives the flour time to let go. Hot milk, or milk poured in all at once, seizes it into lumps that no whisk will get out.
The test for done was a wooden spoon. When the gravy coated the back of it and a finger drawn through left a line that stayed, it was ready. Salt, more black pepper than you think, and straight to the table.
Why this cream gravy works
- Fried chicken drippings. The fat carries the flavor of the crust and the browned crumbs are the whole savory base. Butter makes a gravy; drippings make this one.
- Flour cooked until it smells toasted. Two or three minutes in the hot fat cooks the raw taste out and lets the flour thicken smoothly.
- Cold milk, added slowly. Cold liquid keeps the flour from seizing, and splashes let you whisk each one smooth before the next.
- The wooden spoon test. Gravy that coats the back of a spoon and holds a finger line is thick enough to cling to a biscuit and thin enough to pour.
Ingredients
Makes about 2 cups of gravy, enough for 6 people at a chicken supper. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
- About 1/4 cup fried chicken drippings (60ml): the fat left in the skillet after frying chicken, with all the browned crumbs and bits
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (31g)
- 2 cups cold whole milk (480ml), straight from the refrigerator
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more
Whole milk gives the right body. The drippings and the crumbs come from a skillet of fried chicken, and the gravy is made as soon as the last piece comes out, while the skillet is still hot.
How to make cream gravy
- Take the last of the fried chicken out of the skillet and set it on a rack. Carefully pour the fat off into a heatproof cup, leaving about 1/4 cup in the skillet along with all the browned crumbs on the bottom. If any bits are black rather than brown, scoop those out. If you poured off too much, add a spoonful of fat back.
- Set the skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over the fat and stir it in with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the bottom, until the paste turns the color of sand and smells toasted, like the edge of a pie crust. Do not let it go dark brown; this is white gravy.
- Pour in about 1/2 cup of the cold milk and whisk hard until the paste is completely smooth. Then add the rest of the milk a splash at a time, about 1/2 cup each, whisking each one smooth before you add the next.
- Bring the gravy to a gentle simmer, stirring and scraping the bottom and corners of the skillet. Simmer for 4 to 6 minutes, until it coats the back of the wooden spoon and a finger drawn through the coating leaves a clean line that stays.
- Season with the salt and a generous amount of black pepper, taste, and add more if it needs it. It almost always needs more pepper. Too thick, whisk in a splash of milk; too thin, simmer another minute.
- Pour it into a warm bowl and serve right away, over split biscuits, mashed potatoes, chicken fried steak or the fried chicken itself.
Tips that make the difference
- Measure the fat. Too much and the gravy is greasy; too little and the flour clumps. A quarter cup of fat to a quarter cup of flour is the rule.
- Keep the milk in the refrigerator until the moment you pour it. Cold is the whole trick.
- Whisk in the corners and along the bottom edge of the skillet, where the flour paste hides and lumps start.
- If lumps appear anyway, pour the gravy through a fine sieve and press with the spoon. Nobody at the table needs to know.
Variations
- Pepper gravy. Use 2 teaspoons of coarsely ground black pepper, the kind that speckles the gravy, for chicken fried steak.
- Half and half. Replace 1/2 cup of the milk with cold half and half for a richer, silkier gravy for company.
- With a little onion. Cook 2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion in the fat for 2 minutes before the flour goes in.
- Without drippings. Melt 1/4 cup butter (57g) in the skillet and proceed. It is plain milk gravy, good on biscuits, but without the browned bits it is not quite cream gravy.
Storage and make-ahead
Cream gravy is best the minute it is made. Leftovers keep, covered, in the refrigerator for 3 days; it sets firm when cold, which is normal.
To reheat, warm the cold gravy in a small saucepan over low heat with a splash of milk, whisking until smooth and pourable again. Do not boil it, or it can turn grainy.
It does not freeze well; the milk separates. Make what you need and pour it all.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my gravy have lumps?
Almost always because the milk went in hot, or too fast, or both. Hot liquid hitting the flour paste sets it into lumps instantly. Use cold milk and add it a splash at a time, whisking each one smooth before the next. The flour must also be cooked into the fat first so it absorbs the milk evenly.
What is the difference between cream gravy and brown gravy?
Cream gravy is made with milk and the flour is cooked only until it is sand colored, so it stays white with brown speckles. Brown gravy is made with stock and the flour is cooked dark. Cream gravy is the one for fried chicken, chicken fried steak, biscuits and mashed potatoes.
How much fat and flour do I need?
A quarter cup of drippings to a quarter cup of flour, for 2 cups of milk. That makes about 2 cups of gravy that coats a spoon. For a crowd, double everything in a larger skillet.
Can I make cream gravy without frying chicken first?
You can make a plain milk gravy with butter in place of the drippings, and it is good on biscuits. But the taste of real cream gravy comes from the crumbs and fat left in the skillet after frying chicken, so make it right after the chicken comes out.
Leave a quarter cup of fat and all the crumbs, cook the flour until it smells like toast, and add the milk cold and slow. When the spoon holds a line, it is gravy, and there will not be any left.
Southern Cream Gravy (Made in the Fried Chicken Skillet, No Lumps)
Real Southern cream gravy made from the drippings of fried chicken: a quarter cup of fat and browned bits, a quarter cup of flour cooked until it smells toasted, two cups of cold milk whisked in slowly, simmered until it coats a wooden spoon. Salt, plenty of black pepper, and the reason yours has lumps.
Ingredients
- About 1/4 cup fried chicken drippings (60ml): the fat left in the skillet after frying chicken, with all the browned crumbs and bits
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups cold whole milk (480ml), straight from the refrigerator
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more
Instructions
- Take the last of the fried chicken out of the skillet and set it on a rack. Carefully pour the fat off into a heatproof cup, leaving about 1/4 cup in the skillet along with all the browned crumbs on the bottom. If any bits are black rather than brown, scoop those out. If you poured off too much, add a spoonful of fat back.
- Set the skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over the fat and stir it in with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the bottom, until the paste turns the color of sand and smells toasted, like the edge of a pie crust. Do not let it go dark brown; this is white gravy.
- Pour in about 1/2 cup of the cold milk and whisk hard until the paste is completely smooth. Then add the rest of the milk a splash at a time, about 1/2 cup each, whisking each one smooth before you add the next.
- Bring the gravy to a gentle simmer, stirring and scraping the bottom and corners of the skillet. Simmer for 4 to 6 minutes, until it coats the back of the wooden spoon and a finger drawn through the coating leaves a clean line that stays.
- Season with the salt and a generous amount of black pepper, taste, and add more if it needs it. It almost always needs more pepper. Too thick, whisk in a splash of milk; too thin, simmer another minute.
- Pour it into a warm bowl and serve right away, over split biscuits, mashed potatoes, chicken fried steak or the fried chicken itself.
