Thickening Gravy/Bechamel Sauce

By Lsweetnell

I am excited about this recipe because it opens up so many doors for cooking. Have been making it for at least 50 years. I love it over biscuits, or over mashed potatoes. This is NOT a low fat recipe.

The flour and butter is a roux, add the milk or half and half and you have a bechamel sauce. Those are the French fancy names.

This is the basic recipe for so many cream dishes and cream soups and for many this is the start for mac and cheese. I would recommend the 4, 4, 2. The different combinations below would be used depending on what you are making. Say for a pudding I would use the 2,2,1 recipe; for gravy or soup I would use the 4,4,2 recipe, and if you want thick gravy or a bachemel for lasagna use the 3,3,1 recipe.

You can flavor with bacon fat, drain off most of the bacon or sausage fat and then add butter and the flour.

Once you have mastered this, there are a ton of recipes you can make, you can use in lasagna, soups, gravies, even make puddings. The salt and pepper would depend on what you are making, I would not use pepper in a pudding for example.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Butter : 2 tablespoons flour : 1 cup warmed milk (or 1/2 cup warmed milk and 1/2 cup warmed half and half) (you can combine the milk and half and half to warm.
• or
• 4 tablespoons Butter : 4 tablespoons flour : 2 cups warmed milk (or 1 cup warmed milk and 1 cup warmed half and half)
• or
• 3 tablespoons Butter : 3 tablespoons flour : 1 cup warmed milk (or 1/2 cup warmed milk and 1/2 cup warmed half and half) (you can combine the milk and half and half to warm.
• 1 teaspoon salt (more if needed to taste)
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper (more if needed to taste.

Preparation

Step 1

using a wisk, melt butter in medium hot sauce pan, (do not burn, remove from the heat if pan is too hot), add flour, stir and let cook for at least a minute to cook the flour taste out, stirring constantly, add warmed milk (I use the microwave for about 2 minutes, that would include the half and half) slowly, stirring constantly can turn up the heat a little but DO NOT let milk mixture come to a boil, especially if you are using any kind of cheese if it starts to bubble, take off the heat and keep stering, or the recipe will break and become strange and you have to start over.

I prefer to use a little half and half to help sturdy the milk so it won't break and you can actually let it simmer for a minute or so, and to add a creamier texture.

As mentioned above, this is a basic recipe for thickening gravy or a bechamel I make my sauage gravy this way, I cook the sausage, drain off most of the fat, and add the butter right in with the meat and then the flour, let the flour and butter mixture cook for at least a minute before you add the milk to cook the flour taste out. Add the salt and pepper, I like a lot of pepper, and put over some pan biscuits and serve with some slices of fresh summer tomatoes on the side to dip in the cream gravy.

Dedicated to my darling grandson Christopher