Published March 21, 2024. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This delicious Homemade Beef Gravy Recipe is simmered with vegetables and herbs until it becomes a rich flavorful sauce perfect for serving at your next meal. You will be blown away at how tasty this is.
It doesn’t matter if it’s on a steak or a simple open-faced sandwich. We are a sauce family and love to complement what we eat with plenty of it. If you’re similar, then definitely try my Dijon Cream Sauce or Hollandaise.
Beef Gravy
Beef gravy is a sauce made from rendered beef juices, usually mixed with beef stock and wine, cooked with mirepoix and herbs, and then thickened. Gravy, in general, is based on centuries-old cooking methods from France, where roasted meat juices were thickened with roux. I personally believe this is a form of the French mother sauce, Espagnole.
While it is commonly served with a cut or roast of beef, it is excellent served on mashed potatoes or pommes frites. However you decide to use it, there is no doubt that it is an excellent accompaniment to just about any beef recipe.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Fat – You can use rendered lard, unsalted butter, olive, or avocado oil.
- Onion – I used shallots and garlic in this recipe. However, you can substitute the shallot for white, yellow, sweet, or red onions.
- Celery – A few ribs of celery help round out the flavors in the gravy.
- Carrot – You will need some fresh carrots for this.
- Herbs – I use a combination of fresh parsley, thyme, and rosemary, but you can also use fresh sage.
- Stock – You will need beef stock or any remaining beef roast drippings.
- Wine – This is optional, but I used cabernet sauvignon. Any dry red wine, such as Merlot or Shiraz, will also work.
- Flour – All-purpose flour is what’s needed.
How to Make Beef Gravy from Scratch
Add the butter to a large roasting pan or pot over medium heat until it’s melted.
Next add in the celery, carrots, shallots, garlic cloves, herbs, and any additional meat trimmings or scraps.
Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes or until everything starts too lightly brown.
Deglaze with the red wine while scraping the bottom of the pan to release and fond.
Once the wine is au sec, or almost gone, add the beef stock and turn the heat up to high.
Cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by about 25%. It’s totally okay to eyeball it here. This process will ensure the gravy is richer in flavor and color.
In the meantime, make your beurre manie.
Once the stock is reduced, whisk in the beurre manie a little bit at a time to ensure no clumps form.
Turn the heat down to low medium and cook for 5 to 7 minutes to remove any starch flour flavors.
Season the gravy with salt and pepper, and finish with 1 tablespoon of butter.
Strain the beef gravy through a fine mesh strainer or chinois.
Serve with optional garnish of minced fresh herbs or chives.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe up to 3 days ahead. Keep cool until ready to use.
How to Store: Cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can freeze this, but the sauce may break, and you will need to rethicken it.
How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of beef gravy to a small saucepot and heat over low heat until hot. You may need to rethicken it using a small amount of roux or beurre manie.
Chef Notes + Tips
- If you are making this for a holiday meal, I highly recommend prepping the mirepoix 1 to 2 days ahead to alleviate cooking pressures.
- This is the perfect time to make it while your protein rests after roasting in the oven or smoker.
- Substitute the fresh thyme for 1 teaspoon. Swap the parsley for 1 teaspoon dry. Lastly, use 1 teaspoon of dry rosemary for fresh.
- Fond are the yummy brown proteins in food that stick to the bottom of the pan as they are cooked. It is loaded with umami flavors and should always be released into the food to make it tastier.
- You can also thicken the gravy with a traditional roux or slurry.
- If you do not drink wine, you can swap it out for water or beef stock.
- It’s good to periodically skim and remove any impurities from the gravy as it cooks, no matter its stage.
More Sauce Recipes
Homemade Beef Gravy Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 peeled small diced shallot
- 1 medium diced carrot
- 1 medium diced rib of celery
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 sprigs fresh parsley
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 cup optional beef trimmings and scraps
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 6 cups beef stock
- ½ beurre manié recipe
- coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the butter to a large roasting pan or pot over medium heat until it’s melted.
- Next add in the celery, carrots, shallots, garlic cloves, herbs, and any additional meat trimmings or scraps.
- Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes or until everything starts too lightly brown.
- Deglaze with the red wine while scraping the bottom of the pan to release and fond.
- Once the wine is au sec, or almost gone, add the beef stock and turn the heat up to high heat.
- Cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by about 25%. It’s totally okay to eyeball it here. Doing this process will ensure the gravy is richer in flavor and color.
- In the meantime, make your beurre manie.
- Once the stock is reduced, whisk in the beurre manie a little bit at a time to ensure no clumps form.
- Turn the heat down to low medium and cook for 5 to 7 minutes to remove any starch flour flavors.
- Season the gravy with salt and pepper, and finish with 1 tablespoon of butter.
- Strain the beef gravy through a fine mesh strainer or chinois.
- Serve with optional garnish of minced fresh herbs or chives.
Homemade Beef Gravy Recipe