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Brown Gravy

A savory brown gravy made with onion, oil, flour, stock, and yeast extract.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 7 ingredients
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Brown Gravy

Why it works: Onion and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,092 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Brown Gravy

1½ cups

Ingredients

Directions

Make the roux

  1. Sauté onion in oil over medium heat with salt and pepper until golden brown.

  2. Add flour and stir.

  3. Cook roux for several minutes until it darkens.

Make the gravy

  1. Add stock and stir until smooth.

  2. Add yeast extract; it will incorporate as the gravy warms.

  3. Taste and season if necessary.

  4. When the gravy simmers, it is done.

Strain and serve

  1. Strain into a gravy boat or other serving container and allow to cool a few minutes before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

889Calories
43 gProtein
30 gFat
109 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Mushroom1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Pepper + beeftop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,971 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Onion + flourtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together32,460 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together50,459 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour
Thickens the oil and stock into a smooth gravy as the roux cooks.
Vegetable oil
Carries the flavor of the onion and forms the base of the roux with the flour.
Vegetable stock
Supplies the liquid that the roux thickens into gravy.
Yeast extract
Adds savory depth, contributing umami flavor to the gravy.
Onion
Adds aromatic sweetness and savory flavor as it browns in the oil.

The step that matters

Cooking the roux until it darkens. Cooking flour in fat until it darkens develops color and nutty flavor, but scorched flour turns bitter. Stir steadily and keep the heat moderate so the roux browns evenly before the stock is added.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, flour, beef):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Carrotfits better
  3. Okrafits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, flour, beef. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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