How To Make Smooth Southern Thanksgiving Gravy The Easy Way

While you're busy looking into scrumptious turkey and pie recipes, don't forget the sauce that somehow ties the whole meal together. We all love a good gravy on Thanksgiving, don't we? Thanks to Good Morning America, here's an easy recipe for a deliciously smooth gravy. Glenn Rolnik, director of culinary operations at Virgil’s Real BBQ in Times Square and Carmine’s, joined the outlet on Tuesday to share recipes and tips for perfecting the southern Thanksgiving staple. "Gravy is the finishing touch of Thanksgiving dinner, it basically ties everything together," he said. If you're looking to make a delicious crunchy fried chicken steak with smooth gravy, look no further. While Rolnik's take on gravy has special flavors including a dash of sage, he's also putting a spin on the classic chicken steak using cornflakes, potato chips, and crackers for that extra crunch.

Let's start with the hero of the dish: the gravy, of course. Here's what you'll need.

Chicken Gravy Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil
¾ pound bulk breakfast sausage
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup finely diced yellow onion
½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage
¾ teaspoon dried sage
½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups chicken stock

Chicken Fried Steak Ingredients

1 (36-ounce) beef eye of round
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
3 cups lightly crushed plain potato chips
3 cups lightly crushed saltine crackers
3 cups corn flakes
1 cup Universal Flour
4 extra-large eggs, beaten
3–4 cups canola oil

Recipe

1. Get a large saucepot with a heavy bottom for the gravy. Cook sausage in oil over medium heat until lightly brown. Cut it up into quarter-sized. Cook onions in butter until translucent. 

2. Add salt pepper, sages, and poultry seasoning. Form a roux by sprinkling flour. Cook for 2 more minutes. Add cream and stir till it gets thick. Add chicken stock and lightly simmer for 3 minutes or until the mix has thickened. 

3. Slice the trimmed beef eye of round into six 6-ounce portions.

4. Place two of the steaks, 3 to 4 inches apart, on a large cutting board with plastic wrap. Place another wrap on top and pound the meat with a meat mallet. They need to get about ⅜ inch thick. Remove the wrap and sprinkle some of the salt and pepper, and set aside. Do this until the steaks have been flattened.

5.  Combine the potato chips, crackers, and cornflakes in a medium mixing bowl. Make sure they are crumbled to a similar size of the cornflakes.

6. Create your breading station by putting together the beef, pan with flour, bowl with eggs, and bowl with cornflakes breading mix.

7. Dip steaks into flour, dust off excess, then eggs, and lastly press onto breading mix. Repeat with all steaks and stack on a plate, separating each with parchment paper. 

8. Get a deep saute pan or electric skillet and fill one-third with oil and heat to 350 degrees.

9. Fry steaks one at a time for about two minutes on each side till golden brown. Place on paper towels separately. Serve warm and smothered with gravy. 

Gravy Tips

For the gravy, here are some things to make a note of. Make sure to use fresh ingredients. Use get a thick gauge saucepot to cook the gravy in, as this helps prevent burning. Make a roux with half butter or oil and half all-purpose flour. The roux has to be cooked to the color of the sauce you're making. So mix continuously and breaks lumps of flour by whisking and whipping clockwise. Simmer the gravy for 10 minutes as this helps erase the raw flour taste. If you find chunky bits just use a strainer at the end.  Finally, reduce the heat and add a little cold water and cornstarch to create a paste. Do this slowly and bring the gravy to a boil so that it gets thickened. And there you have it! Easy peezy gravy recipe! Tell us how it goes and also... Have a happy Thanksgiving!