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Brown Gravy

A savory beef and ham broth simmered with vegetables and seasonings, strained and optionally thickened.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Brown Gravy

Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

Brown Gravy

Oven, in the book's wordsA very moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a very moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. In a large jar, layer the ham, beef, vegetables, and seasonings alternately.

  2. Pour the water over the entire mixture.

  3. Cover the jar tightly to prevent steam from escaping.

Bake

  1. Place the jar in a 350°F (175°C) oven and bake for 6 to 8 hours.

  2. If the oven is hot, reduce the time to about 5 hours.

Strain and finish

  1. Strain the gravy and let it cool, then skim off the grease.

  2. Optionally, flavor with wine and thicken with a little corn starch mixed with cold water, boiling for 2 to 3 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

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. Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,173 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  2. Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together21,601 recipes

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

  3. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

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

  4. Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Beef + carrottop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,606 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Shin of beef
Breaks down over long cooking to give body and rich meaty flavour to the liquid.
Lean ham
Adds savoury, salty depth to the stock as it slowly releases its flavour.
Onion
Contributes sweetness and aromatic flavour as it cooks slowly in the liquid.
Corn starch
Thickens the strained liquid into a gravy when boiled with cold water.

The step that matters

Sealing the jar tightly. A tight cover keeps steam in, so the liquid stays at moisture and the meat and vegetables cook gently over the long bake. Steam escaping would reduce the liquid and concentrate the stock unevenly.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, ham, onion, carrot, celery):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Marjoramfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, ham, onion, carrot, celery. 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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