As a Briton I should know how to make this, to my eternal shame I don’t:(
I’ve tried online recipes and no matter that I follow the instructions perfectly my OG turns out nothing like.
I’ve added red and white wine, bay leaf and all manner of approved ingredients…not a bit of difference, it still tastes crap.
There must be someone out there who can give me an easy to follow recipe because to be quite honest with you, bubble and squeak aint the same without lashings of OG…made the proper way
I guess frying some onions and dumping them into a Bisto gravy doesn’t work for you?
Actually, it is a little-known fact that Lancastrians are not allowed to have decent onion gravy so as to deprive them of the heavenly food of Yorkshire pudding with onion gravy. As a starter, of course.
When I want an onion base for gravy, I sauté the onions slowly in some kind of grease until they turn light brown and fall apart. A good way to make then nearly inedible is to chop them up fine with a metal blade. It makes them taste bitter. I found this out by using my food processor to mince the onion before sautéing and it was awful and bitter. I researched it and found other cooks advised against mincing the onion for that reason. Until recently that meant I had to make thick slices of onion and it took far too long to cook down. However, I recently tried making paper thin slices on my ceramic bladed mandolin and found that did not cause a bitter flavor. It is also much quicker than cooking down thick slices. You might want to include one or two thick slices for the look of it.
Here is how I do it. I find a lot of people don’t like eating onions in dishes even though they like the taste so I have developed this trick - cut up the onions in large chunks so people can discard/ignore them and for any that stays in the recipe blend it. Other than that it is a standard recipe. Should do say 4 or 5 people?!
Oil/butter of choice (I use olive oil and a knob of butter)
large onion 1/2 in big chunks, 1/2 thinly sliced cooked gently in the oil for say 6 minutes. Then scoop out the thinly sliced onions (oil and all) and blend smooth and return
add a little flour (as little as you need maybe 1 or 2 teaspoons) and while stirring it in cook for another minute
slowly add about a cup to a cup and a quarter of stock (or stock and a little wine if you like)
cook slowly while stirring occasionally and taste
you can add a dollop of any of these to taste:
needs sweetness add a little tomato sauce
needs salt add salt or a little soy sauce
pepper to taste
if you like it herby chop some parsley to sprinkle on it when served
cook until you like the way it runs off a spoon - about thick cream consistency
pull out the big chunks of onion and put it in your gravy boat.
I personally hate to taste flour in sauces, so keep it to aminimum and would rather either serve the sauce thinner or if time permits cook it slower and thicken it on the stove. If you don’t feel the same way you can probably use more than I do.
And post No.4 is the one I’ll try next
Adding some cool water to the flour and blending it smooth before adding to the hot mixture helps prevent lumpy bumpy gravy. A pretty common trick, but I spent three years destroying gravies before I learned it.
I’ve never made a proper English Onion Gravy, but with inspiration from this thread I decided to try it the last time I had sausages. I decided to take my own road, and prepared the whole deal much as I might make gravy from a roast or a bird- and it turned out OK, not great, but it was pretty good…
I set the sausages in a roasting pan with two sliced medium onions, about 1/4 cup of water and a drizzle of vegetable oil. I threw the covered roasting pan in a 365F oven and let the sausages and onions steam/braise for about 25 minutes, then rermoved the cover during a final 20 minute roasting/browning of the sausages, about 45 minutes total. Took the sausages out of the oven, and removed them from the pan and placed the roasting pan with the onions and drippings directly on a high stovetop element, added around a cup cup and a half of water, a generous drizzle of Kitchen Bouquet, and some salt and pepper. I thickened the gravy with about a tablespoon of flour shaken with a small amount of water in a jar- one simply drizzles the slurry very slowly into the simmering gravy stirring to avoid lumps. Then I let the gravy and the flour "cook out’ at a high simmer for a few minutes, stirring often.
I had the gravy over the sausages with mashed potatoes and peas.
I would probably use beef stock the next time or perhaps a can of Campbell’s French Onion soup- that was my biggest mistake I used water thinking the drippings and onion would stretch the flavor, but it just didn’t taste as good as it could have. You might balk, but I actually think the French onion from a can would be a good addition to make this gravy “pop” and perhaps taste even more authentic, even though I have never had the real thing- I am just going by the recipes given.
Seriously chowder, just cut the onions like you would if they were going to be fried and put on a hot dog or whatever. Lightly fry them, until browned. The oil might need draining off at this point, if it’s not soaked into the onion. Keep adding water and reducing it, then adding more, until the liquid is quite thick, but don’t let the onions disintegrate. Finally, add gravy granules. Works like a charm, takes about 30-45 mins. You could also use Bisto onion gravy powder to add to the onions instead of roast gravy granules.
I’m pretty certain that the onion gravy you are asking for is not the same as the onion gravy I would make. This is a southern US style gravy and is especially good over liver.
5 vidalia onions (or any super sweet variety) sliced thin
half a pound of jowl bacon sliced
2 cups of cream
1 tablespoon of flour slurry to thicken
Salt and Pepper
Fry the jowl bacon, then remove the meat and reserve. Add the onions to the grease and cover cooking on low heat until rich golden brown stirring occasionally. Add the meat back to the onions and pour cream over the onions and bacon bringing to a simmer. Stir and simmer for about 10-15 mins until reduced and thickened, if you need to add the flour slurry. Season with salt and fresh pepper, then serve immediately.
These onion gravy granules, are they anything like Lipton’s Onion Soup Packets? We have powdered gravy packets, but I have never heard of gravy granules, it intrigues me.
Is onion gravy one of those dishes that must have a processed flavor to be at its best? Something homey and souful that best comes from the chip shop on the corner? Or is it more refined?
I have seen an onion gravy recipe that includes mustard, is that typical? I have had Bubble and Squeak but I served it with wow-wow sauce. Is onion gravy more typical as an accompaniement, or is it regional?
It’s really all about caramelizing the onions. Try this – it’s awesome and it’s idiot proof. Slice up about 6-8 onions and put them in a crock pot. Drizzle it with about a quarter cup of olive oil (basically give them a good drenching), or a half stick of butter. Put the lid on, and cook on low for 8-10 hours. The results will be staggering – a deep brown, aromatic, almost liquified onion elixir. Throw the results in a pan, dust it with flour, add stock (and/or wine if you want. I’ve also used stout) some Worcestershire sauce, a little S&P, and Bob’s your uncle. You can’t screw it up. Onions done that way are so good, you can mix them with shoe polish and they’ll taste just fine.
Saute onions in a bit of fat, add fresh rosemary and ginger. Add enough flour to make a roux. Add stock.