Sign Up for the Recipe Publishing Newsletter
KC Kudra's Articles
Christine's Articles
A Closer Look at Homemade Gravy Recipes
Gravy is a great way to put the finishing touches to a meal and there are various kinds of gravy that you can make. If you have ever made gravy from a box, you will know how bland and artificial it can taste, so this is not the best way to impress people.
Homemade gravy recipes however are both easy to make and delicious to eat so, if you want to serve a full-flavored sauce which complements your meat or poultry just as well as it complements the potatoes and vegetables on the plate, homemade gravy is the answer.
What are Homemade Gravy Recipes?
The difference between gravy from a box and homemade gravy is primarily the flavor. Homemade gravy is far superior. If you want to know about how to make it, you will be pleasantly surprised to discover that making gravy is really easy.
You usually use the juices from the meat or poultry and can add flour or another thickener to alter the consistency. Herbs, spices, mustard, wine, sherry, and vegetables are all optional additives to homemade gravy recipes and you can match the flavor of your gravy to your meat.
Some people like thin, watery gravy but a lot of people prefer thick gravies and you can thicken your gravy with flour or with a roux, which is made with corn flour, cornstarch, and arrowroot or wheat flour. Animal fat is often added to, to give the gravy more depth of flavor and to give it a glossy appearance. When you are making homemade gravy recipes instead of adding water to an instant gravy mix, you get to choose from all these options, so you can make the gravy exactly how you want it to be.
Different Types of Homemade Gravy Recipes
Gravy is fantastic because you can match it to the dish you want to serve it with. Not only can you choose between beef gravy, turkey gravy and lamb gravy and more, but also you can choose different kinds of gravy.
For example, if you want to serve lamb, there are various gravy recipes for lamb that you can choose from. Do you want an herby gravy with rosemary or mint, or what about a red wine-enriched lamb gravy recipe? Sour cream or cream can be added to some gravy recipes to make it richer and slow-cooked onions are added to others.
There are hundreds of ways to make gravy and whereas most recipes might stick to a similar preparation method, which is simmering the juices from the meat with other ingredients, the ingredients you add are completely up to you and you can make your gravy whichever flavor, color, and consistency you like. If your gravy comes out too pale, too thin, too thick or too something else, there are ways to alter the flavor, color, and consistency.
Deciding Which Homemade Gravy Recipes to Make
The type of homemade gravy recipes you make depends very much on what you are going to be serving them with. If you are serving roast pork, you might like to combine the juices from the meat with some flour and butter and perhaps some sage or tarragon to make a fresh-flavored gravy which complements the pork perfectly.
Alternatively, you might want to leave out the herbs and add some white wine for a sophisticated flavor, or some black pepper and Tabasco sauce for a spicy gravy. Experimenting is half the fun and there are plenty of easy gravy recipes that you can try.
Thanks for visiting,
Christine and everyone here at Homemade Gravy Recipes
Featured Homemade Gravy Recipe:
Easy Salisbury Steak Gravy Recipe
This easy Salisbury steak gravy recipe makes a great dinner for busy weeknights or a satisfying, warming meal for a lazy weekend. Salisbury steak is made with ground beef, egg, onion and other ingredients and it is a good budget alternative to steak. The ground beef mixture is almost as satisfying as a piece of steak but it is a fraction of the cost. It is nice to have steak sometimes but the cost can be prohibitive, which is why recipes like this easy Salisbury steak gravy recipe are so nice to learn.
The gravy is made while the Salisbury steak is keeping warm and it is made primarily with milk, beef bouillon, and mushrooms for a rich and unique flavor. You can serve broccoli and corn kernels with this easy Salisbury steak gravy recipe or you can serve other vegetables like green beans, green peas, or carrots.
Boiled or mashed potatoes are also nice with it. You can get frozen Salisbury steak in gravy but those dishes are nowhere near as good as this homemade recipe and once you have made this you will not want to buy the boxed meals again.
Salisbury Steak and a Delicious Homemade Gravy
Ingredients -
1 lb ground beef
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 egg
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons crushed cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons butter
¼ teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
½ head broccoli, in florets
8 oz canned sliced mushrooms in juice
3 beef bouillon cubes
3 cups milk
1 ½ cups frozen corn
Preparation:
Combine the egg, beef, onion, cracker crumbs, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper in a bowl with your hands.
Shape the mixture into 6 patties, making them an inch thick.
Fry the patties in a skillet over a moderately high heat for a few minutes per side or until brown.
Drain the fat off and put the patties on a platter underneath loosely tented aluminum foil to keep them warm.
Melt the butter in the skillet and add the mushrooms.
Cook them for a couple of minutes, then sprinkle the flour over them and stir well.
Stir in the beef bouillon and milk and cook until smooth and thick.
Put the patties in the gravy and cook uncovered over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring a few times.
Simmer the broccoli in salted water until tender and cook the corn for a couple of minutes until it is hot.
Serve each person 2 patties in gravy with the vegetables on the side.
(Serves 3)
Photo Description:
You can see in the photo how tempting this easy Salisbury steak in gravy recipe looks, especially when served with colorful vegetables like corn and broccoli. This is a budget meal but a very satisfying one nonetheless and the whole family will enjoy this dish. Served with mashed potatoes or even fries, this is a well balanced and flavorful dish, which is great whether you are looking for tasty beef recipes for a busy weeknight or whether you just fancy making something deliciously different for your family. This is a very easy recipe as well as a highly flavored one.
An Introduction to Homemade Gravy Recipes
If you enjoy gravy, you might already know that homemade gravy recipes are much better than the gravy mixes you can buy. Using the juices from your meat to make a gravy means the flavor of the gravy will complement the meat perfectly.
Gravy's rich flavor comes from the fat and that is what drains out of the meat as it slowly cooks. As a rule, the better the quality of the meat you are using, the better flavored your gravy will be. Some people get exasperated when making their first gravy recipes, complaining it always comes out too thick or too thin or just does not taste right. If this is the case with you, it is worth reading some gravy articles to discover the reasons behind these common gravy mistakes and learn how to make perfect gravy time after time.
How Easy Can Homemade Gravy Recipes Be?
A basic recipe for gravy will consist of the drippings from the meat or poultry, flour, fat and liquid. You need to strain the drippings, and then add the flour and some fat. It is important to use the same amount of fat as flour, in order for the consistency to be right, so you will need to measure your ingredients with a measuring jug or weighing scales. If you use too much flour you will not be able to taste the fat and, since most of the flavor comes from the fat, that would not be a good idea.
You will need to combine these ingredients over a low heat and whisk the gravy all the time so it does not get lumpy. The flour will taste raw and overpowering if you don't cook it for long enough so it is important to simmer the gravy for enough time before adding whichever liquid you want to add to it. Have the liquid warm or hot, else the gravy might separate. You need to keep stirring and cooking the gravy until it gets thick and then serve it.
You might want to add some salt, pepper, bay leaves, garlic, onions, celery, or tomatoes to the gravy recipe, depending on the taste you are hoping for. You can use soup stock or bouillon instead of water if you want a very flavorful gravy or use cream or milk if you want a light flavored gravy for chicken or turkey. This is how easy it is to make the most wonderful tasting gravy recipes.
How to Serve Homemade Gravy Recipes
Gravy is usually served in a jug so that people can help themselves to however much they want. It is nice poured over the meat, potatoes, and vegetables. Gravy also goes well with fries or other starches.
If you are cooking for vegetarians, you might want to make a vegetable gravy. This is primarily flavored with cooked vegetables, such as onion, celery, and carrot, and then the flavor is enhanced with the addition of herbs, spices, salt and pepper.
You can serve this kind of gravy with meat too, if you fancy a unique flavor combination, and vegetarians who are having a meat alternative or omitting the meat altogether, will not feel left out.
There are also more specific gravies, such as egg gravy, which is nice with a homemade biscuit recipe, or onion gravy, which is great with sausages and mashed potatoes. A rich red wine gravy would be great with beef or lamb and a creamy gravy would be delicious with poultry. You can either match the gravy recipe to the meat or experiment with different types of gravy recipes.
Inside Mexican Food Recipes
Beef Gravy Recipe
Brilliant Beef Gravy Recipe - In terms of richness, flavor, and texture, few things beat a homemade beef gravy recipe. Dark-colored, thick beef gravy adds the perfect finishing touch to your beef or steak and it is so simple to make. Just by adding a few basic ingredients to your beef drippings, you can make the most wonderful beef gravy, which will go beautifully with the meat, the vegetables and over the potatoes as well. A classic roast dinner is just the thing to impress your family and a perfectly flavored beef gravy recipe completes this mouthwatering image.
Lamb Gravy
Mouthwatering Lamb Gravy - Whether you want to fortify your lamb gravy by adding some fresh mint or rosemary or even a splash of sherry, or leave it pure and natural by combining the lamb drippings with a couple of other ingredients, you will not have any problems with our easy lamb gravy recipes. There are recipes for lamb gravy to suit every taste. Beginner cooks will find lamb gravy easy to make and, of course, it is the perfect accompaniment to a juicy shoulder or leg of lamb and equally nice with lamb chops or cutlets.
Pork Gravy
Make Pork Gravy Like a Pro - Pork gravy might not be as common as beef or chicken gravy but it is just as tasty. By adding pork stock to the drippings from the meat, you can make a delicious jus to serve with your roast pork or pork chops. Pork gravy is just as simple to make as other kinds of gravy but it has a slightly different taste to make it complement the meat perfectly. You might like to add sherry, wine, or herbs to your pork gravy or keep it simple. There are various pork gravy recipes that you can choose from.
Turkey Gravy Recipe
Turkey Gravy Recipe Ideas - When making turkey gravy, there are various recipes you can choose from. Turkey gravy adds flavor and moisture to an already flavorful and moist dish and it finishes off your turkey dinner in style. Turkey gravy is easy to make, just by combining the drippings from the bird with some other ingredients and, if you enjoy making gravy, you will love our turkey gravy recipes because they are simple to prepare and taste so good. Turkey is a popular meat, especially around thanksgiving, and turkey gravy complements the flavor of this meat perfectly.
Chicken Gravy Recipe
Chicken Gravy Recipe Ideas - If you are in doubt about how to make gravy for chicken, it is best to find a good chicken gravy recipe and follow it to the letter. After that you can tinker with it as you like, perhaps adding some white wine to add some depth of flavor or even some fresh or dried herbs. Chicken is naturally moist and juicy when you cook it right and a chicken gravy recipe is the ideal way to finish off a plate of roast chicken, potatoes, and vegetables. This might be a lighter gravy than beef gravy, both in terms of flavor and color, but it is just as mouthwatering.
Gravy Recipes
The Most Gorgeous Gravy Recipes Ever - If you have been making gravy from a box for years, you are in for a real treat when you start making homemade gravy recipes. Most homemade recipes are superior to their store-bought counterparts but gravy is something that you can really impress people with. Using the drippings from the meat or poultry means you can give the gravy a meaty flavor and you really do not have to add much to it to get the perfect consistency and taste. Making gravy is much easier than you might have thought and you can serve it with meat, poultry, vegetables, potatoes, or biscuits.
Vegetable Gravy
Flavorful Vegetable Gravy - Vegetable gravy is something that many people never make because they tend to make beef or chicken gravy instead but it is possible to make a really flavorful vegetable gravy and you aren't limited to serving it over vegetables either. If you want to serve something less meaty with your meat, a vegetable gravy is a nice alternative to standard gravy recipes and, of course, it is also suitable for vegetarians and vegans. You have full control over which vegetables you use to make your flavorful vegetable stock and then you can transform that into a wonderful vegetable gravy.
Biscuit Recipe
Old Fashioned Biscuit Recipe - Biscuits are a classic dish and, like with most foods, there are good ones and not-so-good ones. The very best biscuits are homemade ones and few things beat freshly baked biscuits, which are still warm from the oven, especially when they are topped with an authentic biscuit gravy. A good biscuit recipe means you can make the lightest, most tasty biscuits easily and you can make a flavorful gravy to serve over them as they are baking because the gravy takes the same time to make as the biscuit recipe takes to cook.
Gravy Articles
Gravy Articles for Everybody - You will find gravy articles helpful whether you want to learn more about how to make the best gravy or if you are interested in discovering new types of gravy or the history of this wonderful food. If your gravy recipes are not coming out right, you might be able to find the answer to your problem in our gravy troubleshooting guide. Gravy articles are useful and entertaining for anybody who loves delicious homemade gravy with their dinner or for anyone who wants to learn how to make their own gravy.
Five Reasons to Make Your Own Gravy Recipes
1. The Flavor is Amazing When You Make Your Own Gravy
Homemade gravy has a spectacular flavor and the difference between a gravy mix and a homemade gravy recipe is immediately obvious. Why make a delicious dinner of roast meat, potatoes, and vegetables and then serve a mediocre boxed gravy with it?
2. There are So Many Different Types of Gravy Recipes
Whether you want to serve gravy with lamb, beef, turkey, pork, venison, veal, vegetables, biscuits, or something else, there is a great gravy recipe just waiting to be made.
3. Homemade Gravy is Cheaper Than Using a Gravy Mix
A gravy mix might cost less than a dollar but you are paying for something, which does not taste that, good and is full of chemicals and artificial flavoring agents. Homemade gravy is primarily made from the juices, which come out of the meat you have cooked, and those juices would otherwise be thrown away, which means that not only is homemade grave better tasting but it works out cheaper as well.
4. Your Guests Will Be Impressed
Whether your gravy is for your family or for some visiting guests, nobody is going to fail to be impressed with your homemade gravy. Making gravy from scratch shows that you have made an effort and your guests will appreciate this.
5. Gravy is Easy to Prepare
If you can whisk flour and liquid into meat drippings, you can make a tasty gravy. Some gravy recipes are more complex than others are, of course are, but start off with one of the most easy gravies and you will find out for yourself that there is no mystery about creating a delicious gravy and anybody can do it.
Try These Delicious Homemade Gravy Recipes
Here is just a sampling of our delicious gravy recipes you'll find plenty more inside the site.
Rosemary Gravy for Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Vegetable Pasta
The Best Leg of Lamb Gravy Recipe for Braised Lamb
Country Sausage Gravy and Celeriac Mash
Spiced Chicken with Sour Cream Gravy
Webmaster Notes
Welcome to Homemade Gravy Recipes. We are very excited about this new site and we strive to provide a full, content-rich site, which is easy to navigate and interesting to browse. We have lots more content to come over the next few weeks so feel free to bookmark us and check back often.
We chose to create Homemade Gravy Recipes because there is not another site out there, which offers comprehensive gravy recipes or tips for making the perfect gravy. This is perhaps surprising, given that gravy is so popular and it is the perfect way to finish off a roast dinner, both in terms of presentation and flavor. Homemade gravy recipes are really easy to make and there is a gravy suitable for every type of meat, game, poultry and other dish. In many cases, there are a variety of gravy recipes, which you can choose from, depending on which meat you plan to cook.
We focus both on the traditional recipes for gravy which you might fondly remember from your childhood (perhaps your grandmother or mother made a particularly delicious one) and also on more modern gravy recipes. Conventional gravies tend not to feature so many herbs and spices as some of the newer, bolder flavored gravy recipes and this is largely because those ingredients did not used to be available all year round, like they are today. In many of our gravy recipes, you will see that some ingredients are optional. For example, mint is beautiful in lamb gravy but not everyone likes it, so you can omit the mint without sacrificing any of the wonderful meaty gravy flavor.
We hope you enjoy Homemade Gravy Recipes and we are sure that the recipes will turn out great and the gravy articles and cooking tips will help you to make the best gravies ever for your family. Thank you for visiting and, if you have a moment, please bookmark us in your favorite social bookmarking site. We appreciate the vote of confidence because it helps us to focus our resources on what you really want - great content.
Thanks,
Christine and everyone here at Homemade Gravy Recipes
A Delicious Guide to the History of Gravy Recipes
Gravy is believed to date from as far back as 3000 BC and the first gravy recipes were made in ancient Egypt. There are hieroglyphs in the tomb of an early pharaoh showing clay vessels, which look like early French sauce boats or gravy jugs.
There are also paintings on the walls showing the diners drinking a liquid, which could not blood, beer or wine, judging by the other things in the painting. It makes sense to assume that gravy has been around as long as roast meats have been around, since gravy is basically the thickened juices from cooked meat. Of course, modern gravy recipes are a bit different from the ancient Egyptian ones! So who invented gravy? It would appear that the Egyptians did.
Every culture has its own gravy recipes and these vary quite widely from place to place, depending on local tastes and preferences, as well as what is available in the region. In Asia, the word gravy often refers to any kind of sauce, whereas in other countries it is only a gravy if it is a liquid, made mainly from the juices of the roasted meat.
The History of Red Eye Gravy
This gravy is made from ham drippings after the ham is fried in a pan or skillet. The pan is then deglazed with coffee and Worcestershire sauce, and this southern recipe is served over grits, biscuits, or ham.
It is claimed that the seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, told his cook what to make him. Apparently, the cook had been drinking moonshine and had red, fiery eyes. The president, who was a General at the time, told him to make some ham and some red gravy, the color of this eyes. This is how red eye gravy got its name, according to legend.
Learn More About>> Gravy Recipe History and its Rise in Popularity
Find this and other additional "Gravy Recipes" on our Gravy Recipes index page just look trough our homemade gravy recipe categories to find that perfect sauce to finish off your home cooked dinner tonight.
Why Homemade Gravy Recipes are Wonderfully Unique
No two homemade gravies are the same and that even applies to gravies, which have been made using the following recipes. Lots of little things affect the end flavor and consistency of your gravy, including the quality and type of meat you are using to get the drippings, as well as the spices or seasonings you rubbed into the meat before cooking it.
The kind of liquid you are adding to the gravy recipe, how long and fast you simmer it for and much more also affect the results. So you could say that not only are homemade gravy recipes different from pre-packaged gravy mixes but every gravy recipe is unique.
Different Kinds of Gravy
Maybe you already know some homemade gravy recipes and perhaps your mother or grandmother showed you how to make it when you were young. You might like to use those recipes or perhaps modernize them a little, by adding some new ingredients like various spices or a touch of dry sherry or port wine.
You can also follow other recipes for gravy and maybe experiment with different gravy types. For example, you might love roast chicken but fancy something other than chicken gravy. In this case, you might want to try a roasted or grilled vegetable gravy, for a change. You can adapt gravy recipes and, if they come out too thin, thick, or bland, those problems are easy to remedy.
Cooking Tips for Perfect Homemade Gravy Recipes
Gravy is one of the easiest recipes of all time, even though people tend to worry about ruining their gravy. Since a great gravy can transform a plain roast dinner into something spectacular, it is important to have a basic knowledge of cooking and there are various handy tips you can use, to ensure your gravy is delicious. In addition to gravy cooking tips, we have plenty of helpful information for you, in case you want to adapt existing gravy recipes or find out which gravy goes best with which type of meat.
Find More Gravy Cooking Tips for Perfect Homemade Gravy Recipes on our Gravy Cooking Tips page.
How to Make Memorable Gravy Recipes
When making gravy recipes, it goes without saying that you want your homemade gravy to be memorable, and of course that means memorable in a good way! If you are expecting guests and you want to impress them you might not be able to practice your gravy recipes beforehand like you could with cookie recipes or a salad recipe. Since you need the juices from roast meat as the basis for gravy, you would have to roast a large piece of meat to make the gravy.
Do not worry about this aspect though because the truth is that gravy is so easy to make if you follow a good gravy recipe. If you remember some simple gravy rules, such as using a good quality piece of meat, adding equal amounts of flour and fat, whisking the mixture constantly as it cooks and not over-seasoning it, the recipe should be fine.
There are always steps you can take though, if things do go wrong. If you end up with a bland, lumpy mess instead of the glossy, smooth gravy in the recipe picture, you can sieve it and season it. Present your gravy piping hot, in a gravy jug, and everybody will be very impressed with it - even more so when they taste it and discover it is homemade.
How Much Gravy to Make
A lot of gravy recipes include the recipe for the meat in question so obviously for a roast chicken, which feeds four people, the chicken gravy recipe will also feed four people. A typical gravy recipe combines quarter of a cup of liquid, a couple tablespoons of drippings and some cornstarch or flour. Some recipes will also call for butter, wine, herbs, or other ingredients.
Since gravies need to be simmered, some of the liquid evaporates. With the above amounts then, you would get a cup of gravy. Gravy is inexpensive to make so it is better to have some leftover than run out when the gravy jug has only got halfway around the dinner table!
Different Kinds of Gravy Recipes Around the World
Gravy is often enjoyed with beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, pork, and biscuits. There are lots of different recipes for gravy, depending what it is going to be served with, and gravy recipes vary widely.
For example, a sausage gravy, which goes with southern style biscuits, is very different to a mint and redcurrant flavored lamb gravy. There are white gravies, such as the gravy that is served with chicken fried steak and there are rich, dark gravies, which are nice with richly flavored meats like beef or venison.
In Asia, and especially in Singapore, Malaysia, and India, the word gravy can be used to describe any thick liquid part of a recipe. The liquid on a curry might be called a gravy, for example. Throughout most of Europe and the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom, the word usually refers to a meat-based sauce, which is made with meat juices. There are also vegetarian and vegan gravies.
Southern Style Gravies
Perhaps you have heard of tomato gravy, which is not a typical gravy, in that it is not made with meat juices. Tomato gravy is made with tomatoes, fat, and flour and this is a southern dish.
White gravy, which is also known as sawmill gravy, country gravy or sausage gravy, is popular in the south too and this recipe is used for chicken fried steak or biscuits. It is like a béchamel sauce with flour and meat drippings added, as well as cream or mild. Chicken liver, sausage, and black pepper are other common ingredients in white gravy recipes.
The Most Popular Gravy Recipes
Plain gravies, which are simply made from thickened meat juices and seasonings, are very popular served with beef, chicken, or turkey. Egg gravy is well loved and this breakfast gravy is served with biscuits. Bacon drippings are combined with flour, milk and water and salt and pepper is added to taste. A beaten egg then goes into the mixture and the heat of the gravy cooks it right away.
Onion gravy is popular in Great Britain and this is often served with sausages and mashed potatoes or with a roast dinner. Onion gravy is made with slowly cooked onions, wine and stock and it is also served with eggs, mashed potatoes, vegetables and other kinds of meat whose cooking methods do not produce the drippings necessary to make conventional gravy.
Other International Gravy Recipes
Bread and gravy-based dishes are really popular in the Mediterranean area. Most Algerian, Tunisian and Moroccan dishes are made with meat, oil, and vegetable gravies. The food is served with bread, which is dipped into the gravy and also used to scoop up the meat and vegetables. Tomato-based pasta sauces in the Italian-American community are often referred to as gravy, even if they do not contain meat drippings.
Giblet gravy is made with chicken or turkey giblets and it is served with poultry. This recipe is popular in various parts of Europe, as is cream gravy, which is regular gravy with some cream or sour cream stirred into it.
Vegetarian gravy is another kind, which is popular in various European countries, as well as in the United States and United Kingdom. This is made with roasted or boiled vegetables and you can add fat, vegetable broth and some kind of thickener. You can also add vegetable juices or wine to improve the flavor.
Homemade Gravy Recipes for Everyone
Some people claim not to like gravy but this is just because they have not discovered their favorite gravy recipe yet! Since there are so many different gravy varieties, there literally is something for everyone and this includes vegetarians who do not eat meat or poultry, people who do not like to eat too much fat and even those who find traditional gravy recipes bland and prefer something with a bit more spice. You might need to make a few gravy recipes before you discover which one you like the best.
Matching the Meat and the Gravy
You can team your gravy recipe with the meat or poultry you are going to cook. For example, if you want to make roast pork, you might want to prepare a cream gravy with sage and tarragon. If you want something simpler because you are serving another sauce on the side or a highly flavored side dish, you can simply use the pork drippings and add some water, salt, pepper, and flour to make a more basic, but equally delicious, pork gravy recipe.
You might like to experiment with different meats and gravies. As a rule, delicately flavored gravies are best for lighter meats like veal, pork, and chicken, just so the flavor of the gravy does not overpower the taste of the meat.
You can make bolder gravies for lamb or beef, perhaps using red wine, port or strong flavored herbs or spices in the preparation. The sky is the limit with gravy recipes and if you thought there were only two or three ways to make gravy, prepare to be pleasantly surprised when you browse our extensive collection of recipes for gravy
Top Tips for the Best Homemade Gravy Recipes
Gravy might be easy but that does not mean it always comes out right and, if you have made gravy before, you might still shudder at the memory of a tepid, lumpy mess or something too salty to enjoy.
The best tip for making gravy, if you are new to it, is to follow the recipe exactly. The recipe might tell you to "add enough flour to make the gravy thick" and you will have to use your judgment.
As a rule, add ingredients gradually. Flour does not thick gravy instantly. It needs to be whisked in and allowed to simmer. This means that throwing a handful of flour into the recipe rather than adding it bit by bit will result in a solid ball rather than a gravy!
Choosing Your Ingredients
Use good quality ingredients for the best results. A good quality cut of roast beef will give you well flavored drippings, which you can, in turn, transform into a wonderful gravy recipe.
If the recipe tells you to add a little butter to make the gravy glossy and give it a richer flavor, do not use a cheap margarine instead because you will taste the difference. If you do not want to use a particular ingredient, choose a gravy recipe, which does not feature it; there are plenty to choose from.
If your gravy does go wrong and you do something really bad to it, like adding way too much salt, you might be forced to throw it away and start again, perhaps with a bouillon cube if you have used all the meat drippings in the first gravy batch. This is disappointing but fortunately, most gravy mistakes can be rectified if you know how.