What separates the men from the boys? The pros from the novices? One word: Gravy. Yes I said it. It's been a staple at dinner time with Gram's Swiss steak, Sunday pot roast, and Mom's fried chicken (be still my heart). The varieties I have enjoyed through the years include milk based gravy and broth with a cornstarch and water suspension.
Made well, this serves as the final touch to any meat, potatoes and biscuits. Made wrong, you have created something that is gloppy, and tasteless. The first word that comes to mind is eating glue! There still might be people out there who have an affection to the "Elmer's" variety of glue from school days, but there are much tastier creations out there, I promise.
One of the easier types of gravies to mix up is a milk based gravy. These are most often used in fried cooking such as ham and chicken and sausage. The grease drippings and breading provide the flavors for a tasty sauce to add to the meat.
The basic method to this style of gravy begins when the meat is finished cooking. The temperature needs to be readjusted to a lower temperature. The flour is added to the drippings and you may use a whisk or fork to scrape up all of the seasonings in the pan. The next step is to add the milk into the paste (called a roux) and continue to stir with a whisk or fork and bring up the temperature until thickened. These can always be adjusted. But it's always better to add the liquid to the paste to prevent lumps. Which this step varies just a bit in suspension gravies because you add the cornstarch and water in a separate container FIRST before adding to the broth.
But I digress....I made this tasty gravy while I was cooking some smoked bone in pork chops. I seasoned the pork chops with the Montreal steak seasoning, sage and breadcrumbs, adding whiskey and balsamic vinegar for flavor.
Ingredients:
2-Smoked bone-in pork chops
1/4 Cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 Cup of flour
1 Cup of milk
6-fresh sage leaves
1/2 teaspoon of Montreal Steak Seasoning
1/4 C Jack Daniels Whiskey
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
2-4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (to coat the pan)
Method:
Warm pan on a medium setting (electric setting 5 to 6) and add olive oil. Swirl the olive oil in the pan after a approximately 2 -3 minutes. When the pan is warmed, add the pork chops. Season each side of the chops with Montreal Steak Seasoning, and bread crumbs and sage. Cover the chops and allow to cook. After about 5 to 6 minutes or when each side begins to brown flip cover. Add Whiskey and Balsamic Vinegar, Cover and Reduce heat to medium low until finished cooking (Approximately 7 to 8 minutes).
When the pork chops have finished cooking, remove from heat and cover. (Allowing the meat to sit while to prepare the gravy allows the juices in the meat to redistribute making it more juicy verses cutting the meat right away.)
To Prepare the Gravy:
Reduce the heat to low. Using a whisk loosen the pan drippings by moving the whisk in a circular motion around the pan. Once the drippings are loosened, add the flour and circle the pan with the whisk again forming a paste. After this step is finished, pour a little of the milk in at a time and stir constantly until all the milk is blended in. Continue to stir the gravy and increase the heat to medium until thickened. Season with salt to taste and serve immediately after making.
The sage and the balsamic vinegar add such a great flavor to the gravy and pork chops. We enjoyed them with Fried Sweet Potatoes cooked in butter with crushed pecans. Other sides that would compliment this dish well would be buttermilk biscuits.