The Reason Your Gravy Is Lumpy And How To Fix It

If you are someone who only makes gravy around the holidays to go with your turkey or main course, then you might not have the process totally down. The know-how can be easy to forget while waiting for those couple of days each year that call for gravy to accompany a meal. But no matter how well you know how to make gravy, sometimes it seems to come out lumpy.

Gravy can turn lumpy for a couple of different reasons. The first, according to the Food Network, is not whisking enough. Gravy is made up of hot broth and a flour mixture — just like making a roux. So when you don't whisk the gravy enough or consistently, the flour can seize up in the broth or it could cook onto the bottom of the pan. The second reason gravy might be lumpy is adding the hot broth or stock into the flour too quickly, per BuzzFeed. Again, this could cause the flour to seize up. Epicurious, meanwhile, says that adding too much flour at once to the stock (such as a whole cup) will lead to lumps; instead, the flour should be added gradually (while whisking).

Even if it's too late for a batch of lumpy gravy you've already made, it can still be salvaged if you know the right trick. The simplest and fastest way to revive a lumpy bowl of gravy is to just pour it through a sieve, according to BuzzFeed. This will make the gravy nice and smooth again and catch all of the lumps inside the strainer. For a really smooth gravy, be sure to use a fine-mesh sieve to keep any small lumps from going back into the gravy. Just use your whisk or a spoon (Epicurious calls for a rubber spatula) to press the gravy through the smaller holes of the mesh if you need to speed things up.

Gravy might be a deceptive dish with some traps that are easy to fall into, but if you know what steps must be followed and how to save a seemingly lost bowl of lumpy gravy, there's nothing to worry about. In fact, you just might be able to save your meal so long as you know how to remedy those lumps. So keep the sieve handy.