The Best Aromatics To Hack Your Store-Bought Gravy

Gravy is a remarkably easy sauce to prepare. At its most basic, it's the pan drippings or the juices of your meat, such as beef, chicken, or pork, thickened with flour or cornstarch until it has a smooth consistency. It's perfect for soaking your mashed potatoes in, smothering the same piece of meat in, or dunking your sandwiches into. But if your cut of meat didn't give enough juice or you just don't have the time to make some gravy from scratch, you can just run down to your local grocery store and buy a jar of gravy.

Of course, while there's nothing wrong with store-bought gravy, you probably know that some slight differences exist between it and the homemade stuff. If you're one of those people who pride themselves on making everything as homemade as possible, the idea of serving pre-made gravy right from the jar will likely not sit right with you. Fortunately, there are a few simple ingredients you can use to boost the flavors of the store-bought stuff. Howcast suggests adding bits of meat or pan drippings into the gravy to help give it a "meatier" taste and texture. You can also add a pinch of umami to enhance your store-bought gravy if you really want to take things up a notch.

And if you happen to have any aromatics around, adding them to your store-bought gravy will also help improve its flavor significantly. 

MasterClass describes aromatics as being a variety of vegetables and herbs such as celery, parsley, garlic, and thyme. These vegetables and greens are usually added to a dish in relatively small amounts to help give it color and flavor, as well as a subtle aroma that adds more depth to it. Aromatics can be used in soups, sauces, and, as you'll soon find out, even gravies.

As Real Simple explains, you can add fresh herbs like "rosemary, sage, thyme, and bay leaves" to your store-bought gravy. To ensure that you'll be getting the most flavor from these herbs, simmer the gravy in a saucepan over low-to-medium heat, adding your choice of herbs and aromatics as you do so. Once the gravy is both "fragrant and flavorful" or is flavored to your desired taste, remove the gravy from heat and, should you prefer, strain it to remove any leftover greens. The result would be a gravy infused with many different layers of subtle flavor, similar to how homemade gravy would be.

If you don't happen to have any aromatics lying around your kitchen, don't worry. There's actually another ingredient — the good ol' soy sauce — you can add to your gravy that will give it a bit of a richer flavor. But whether or not you choose to add anything to your gravy, at least we can all agree on one thing: Using gravy, store-bought or not, is better than serving your meat up dry.