Homemade COUNTRY GRAVY MIX: The frugal farm girl's DIY ready-made mix series.

Ready-made mixes: Homemade goodness made simple, one jar at a time.



Country gravy. Around our house, we don't eat biscuits and gravy every day, but my family relishes this classic farmhouse dish on special occasions (and so must you, since you're reading this post :-) Country gravy is a traditional comfort food usually served over biscuits, bacon or sausage, and chicken-fried steak, and it's also used in various breakfast casserole recipes, among other fare. It may not be considered a health-food, but homemade gravy mix is certainly more healthy than a lot of store-bought options out there. 


When was the last time you checked the ingredient list on a commercial package of country gravy mix? I did a quick on-line search to see just what we've been missing since converting to a made-from-scratch life style. My search only reminded me why we made the switch! After reading six ingredient lists on six different brands, they all started to look the same. I want to show you just one example of what I found:
"Creamer (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Corn Syrup Solids, Sodium Caseinate, Mono And Diglycerides, Dipotassium Phosphate, Soy Lecithin), Modified Corn Starch, Wheat Flour, Textured Vegetable Protein [(Soy Flour, Caramel Color), Sugar, Hydrolized Corn, Soy, And wheat Gluten], Salt, Maltdextrin, Dehydrated Sausage (Made from Pork), Dried Chicken Fat (Nonfat Dry Milk), Spices, Hydrolized Soy Protein, Dextrose, Monosodium Glutamate, Autloyzed Yeast Extract, Titanium Dioxide, Dehydrated Onion, Natural Flavors, Malt Extract (Barley), Torula Yeast, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate." (Source) 
WOW. So much for comfort food. There's nothing comforting about that list! Nothing what-so-ever. In fact, you're probably in need of comfort after reading all that, so let's move on to better things. Homemade things. If you've been following my ready-made mix series, you likely have some little jars of biscuit mix sitting on your pantry shelf by now. So today I'm going to share my recipe for Country Gravy Mix with you. This mix makes terrific tasting gravy! Are you ready? Then leave those store-bought mixes behind and let's get started making our own!  


How to make Country Gravy Mix

Ingredients

(The following affiliate links lead to organic, non-GMO products)

1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon black pepper, freshly ground
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage

Instructions

In a small bowl, sift all ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Store your gravy mix in a pint-size jar, or another air-tight container in your pantry. Use within 1 year. 

Did you miss the post on making biscuit mix? No worries. You can find it here. 
How to make gravy with your new mix... 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons DIY Country Gravy Mix
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup chicken broth


Instructions

Step 1: Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat until melted. (Avoid letting the butter boil, steam or brown). 

Step 2: Add the gravy mix to the melted butter, stirring constantly until the mixture forms a thick paste. This should happen in under a minute.

Step 3: Add the chicken broth to the paste and whisk until smooth and creamy. Again, this should take less than a minute.

Step 4: Add the milk, whisking constantly as you pour it in. Continue whisking as you bring everything to a boil over medium-high heat.

Step 5: Once the gravy boils, reduce heat and simmer for about 1 to 2 minutes, whisking occasionally. The gravy is done when it's smooth, thick and creamy. 

Variations:
  • You could use a skillet instead of a saucepan to make gravy in.
  • You could add sausage to your gravy, if you like.
  • If you're serving bacon with biscuits and gravy, or you're adding sausage to your gravy, you could use the meat drippings instead of the called for butter (or a combination of both). Just be sure that the amount of drippings and/or butter equal a total of only 2 tablespoons and you'll be good to go. 


Don't forget your FREE PRINTABLE LABELS! Each mix post in this series comes with a link to a free downloadable page of 8 labels and instructions to attach to your homemade mixes (today, for 8 instruction labels, you'll need to print the page twice, as the instructions were longer and I could only fit 4 per page). These labels are simple and easy to read, and done to look a bit retro (which I love) with their lettering and color scheme. You can print your labels onto white card-stock, cut them out, and use double-sided tape to stick them to your jars of mixes. Or, keep it super simple and print your labels onto this sticker paper by Avery. Just cut them out and stick them right to your jars. Enjoy!



(Print instruction labels 2 times for a total of 8 labels)

CLICK HERE to download your free Country Gravy Mix Labels.




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What dry mixes do you like at home? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

Until next time...


Joy--Fearless Farm Girl,

"Farm girl: it's a verb, because it's what you do."



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8 comments:

  1. Gosh, I've never read the ingredients on a packet of gravy mix, it' SCARY!! Your gravy looks delicious!

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  2. Wow, thank you so very much for the recipes! Love your blog too!

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    1. You're welcome, Maryjane! Thank you, glad you like it here :-)

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  3. I love anything I can make from scratch. Thank you so much.

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  4. I am a little older than most of your readers. I remember a couple books that started me thinking about shortcuts and mixes I could make at home. They were the 'Make a Mix' series and a good starting point for those wanting to know what is in their food while still having the convenience of mixes.
    I have never seen a mix for country gravy. I have always loved biscuits and gravy but living in New Zealand it is a very rare treat. Thanks for sharing this shortcut to a perennial favourite! I will be enjoying this treat more often with this mix handy!

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    1. Hi Katie, I'm glad you'll enjoy this mix :-) I haven't heard of the "Make a Mix" series, but it sounds interesting. I think making your own mixes became popular in the seventies with new waves of interest since then. I'm glad you stopped by. Thanks for your comment.

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