Make Ahead Mushroom Gravy
A Beautiful And Flavorful Gravy That Saves You Time
Make Ahead Mushroom Gravy is a time saving dream. This gravy is made with dried mushrooms that soak for a day or two, creating a rich broth that adds depth and flavor to your gravy.
I’ve found this makes holiday roasts or meatballs all the more special. It can be frozen and reheated when ready to serve.
This recipe for the Make Ahead Mushroom Gravy is pretty simple and straightforward and can be seen on a recipe card at the end of the post.
I included measurements for the spices, but I always encourage you to start to taste and adjust the seasonings based off of your flavor palate.
I rarely get complaints about the recipes, but when I do, it is always something that could have been adjusted on their end like too much pepper and too much salt etc.
This can be fixed if you taste your food as you go and adjust based of how your food tastes to you.
Bouquet Garni
I used a dried herb mix in my gravy that I purchased last year when I took my Christmas Trip to Montreal. Bouquet Garni is made with thyme, bay leaves, and parsley.
There are several spice companies who make this mix. You may also find something called Herbes De Provence, which is also a mix of mild and flavorful herbs.
You can also use any single dried herb that you like. If you will use this gravy for a Rib Roast, you may want to use rosemary.
When using herbs, you might want to add less than my recipe calls for and taste as you go. Reminder that it takes a few minutes for the herb to “bloom” in the recipe.
Add the herb, wait ten minutes, then add more if needed.
Mushroom Water, The Secret Ingredient
I learned this trick of making mushroom water from the family I used to nanny for. They soaked mushrooms often to make many of their Taiwanese dishes like their Lo Ba Bung recipe that I have on my site.
This water is what adds so much flavor to the gravy.
I find dried mushrooms everywhere. Whole Foods has a great selection at all times.
They are usually also in the gravy aisle or in the bulk spice aisle of most grocery stores.
The longer you let the mushrooms soak, the better they are. Do not be afraid to let this soak in your fridge for a day.
You will not be disappointed.
Make Ahead To Freeze
This mushroom gravy is beautiful because you can let it freeze and take it out of the freezer when you are ready to use it.
I love to use this recipe for my Beef Tenderloin or it is a great gravy to add to my Polish Hamburgers.
This gravy is also a delicious topper for mashed potatoes. Freeze in smaller portions to have at the ready for when you make meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
Make Ahead Mushroom Gravy Recipe
Easy to reheat and perfect on meat.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 cups of dried mushrooms (approximately) *can be any mushroom variety, I used a dried forest blend
- 1.5 Cups of Minced, Sweet Onion
- 8 Tablespoons of Butter
- 1 to 2 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of Better Than Bouillon (I used the roasted vegetable flavor, you can use beef or mushroom as well)
- 1/2 tablespoon of your favorite dried herbs (I used a Bouquet Garni) *pictured in post
- 2 to 3 cups of Mushroom Water *see steps for explanation
- 3 cups of warm water
- 1/2 cup of cold water plus 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of heavy cream
- 2 to 3 teaspoons of black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of onion powder
- 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
- *adjust with salt at the end if needed
- 2 bay leaves *optional
Instructions
- Add the dried mushrooms to a bowl with a lid and cover in water. I use approximately 2 to 3 cups of water to cover the mushrooms. Cover and place in the fridge overnight or up to two days.
- Use a strainer and strain the mushroom water into a bowl, you are going to use this water. I usually let the mushrooms sit in the strainer above the bowl for a few hours to get all the liquid out.
- Finely dice your onion, I provided measurements for the onions, but you can use as many as you like. Add 3 tablespoons of butter to a deep sided skillet and sauté these until they are golden brown and soft.
- Rough chop the strained mushrooms into bite sized pieces. I use all the mushrooms, you can use as many as you like depending on how many mushrooms you want in the gravy. Add the mushrooms to the onions along with the remaining butter.
- Give the mushrooms time to sauté and cook down. You want them to cook down and get very golden brown and get the liquid out of them so that they are not slimy. This can take up to 30 minutes. Be patient.
- When the mushrooms are cooked, add the dried herbs you are using, the black pepper, the garlic and onion powders and sauté for a few minutes.
- Add the soy sauce and sauté again for a minute or two.
- Add the mushroom water that you reserved from soaking the mushrooms. Bring this to a simmer. If you are using bay leaves, you can add these at this time.
- Dissolve the Better than Bouillon in the 3 cups of warm water and add this to the pan. Bring to a simmer.
- Put the lid on the skillet and simmer on very low for about 45 minutes. Make sure you use the lid and keep this on low, as you want the liquid to NOT evaporate out. Stir occasionally.
- At this point taste the broth and adjust any seasoning. You can add more bouillon or soy sauce or herbs. Fish the bay leaves out at this time.
- You can keep the gravy as is, or you can use an immersion blender to blend out the bigger chunks. I keep it all whole.
- If you use an immersion blender, this will thicken your gravy. So you may need to use less of the corn starch. Add your corn starch to the 1/2 cup of cold water and whisk to combine so that it is smooth (this is called a slurry). Turn the heat up so the gravy is a stronger simmer, add the corn starch a little at a time, whisking while adding and letting this simmer for a minute or two to thicken. When the gravy is the thickness you prefer, stop adding the corn starch.
- Turn off the heat and add a little of the cream at a time. You do not want to make this gravy creamy, per se, you just want to take some of the sharpness of the earthy flavors out by adding it. Add a little at a time, whisk and taste. It will lighten in color, but do not make it a white gravy if that makes sense.
- Taste and adjust salt if needed.
**I make this gravy a little thicker for when I am making it with a beef roast as I will add some of the meat drippings to it the day I am serving it.
***if your gravy is too thick you can adjust by adding more Better than Bouillon that has been mixed with water, if it is too thin you can add more of the corn starch slurry.