thanksgiving recipes (2 of 4): porcini mushroom gravy

photo by seriouseats.com

i've tried to make gravy on several occasions in the past, mostly recipes made with real turkey drippings, and they have all failed terribly. to the point where we just ended up using a jar of store-bought gravy because they were so liquidy and just useless. this recipe sounded delicious, did not deal with any unwieldy drippings, and on top of it all sounds classy as F, so i gave it a go. not only was the consistency perfect, but this was SO damn good. like... it tasted like real gravy. that i could be served somewhere. and not be disappointed. be actually happy.

i was worried it might be too chunky with the mushroom bits (it was not) or too strongly taste like mushrooms (it did not). happy to report i officially have a go-to gravy recipe. the recipe (and photo since i forgot to take one) are courtesy of seriouseats.com.

ingredients list (makes about 3 cups):

- 4 cups stock (i used veggie stock since we had a vegetarian popping by)

- 1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms (i used a dried mix of porcini, oyster, crimini, & a bunch of other mushrooms) 

- 1/4 cup butter

- 1/4 cup flour

- 1/2 tsp garlic powder

- 2 tbsp dry sherry

- 1 tbsp heavy cream

- kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

to make: 

in a medium saucepan, bring stock to a boil over medium high heat. remove from heat and add in mushrooms, allowing to steep until mushrooms are tender, about 15 minutes. drain mushrooms, reserving stock. finely chop the mushrooms. 

melt butter over in the saucepan over medium high heat. add in the chopped mushrooms and garlic powder and cook about 5 minutes until mushrooms start to brown, stirring occasionally. whisk in flour and cook until golden blonde, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. 

gradually add in the reserved stock, whisking constantly. bring to a boil, reduced to a simmer, and cook until reduced to 3 cups, about 10-15 minutes. add in garlic powder and salt & pepper to taste. stir in sherry and heavy cream and cook until warmed through, about 1 minute. 

serve immediately or reheat over medium-low (i reheated mine, adding in an additional tbsp sherry after heating since it cooked off during the re-heat process).