Southwestern Gravy Recipes

SOUTHWESTERN SKIRT STEAK WITH CHEESE GRITS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Toss the poblanos and tomatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large bowl; season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast until tender and lightly browned in spots, about 25 minutes; set aside.
• Meanwhile, bring 3 1/2 cups salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the grits, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer; cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Whisk in the cheese, butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt until smooth. Cover and set aside.
• Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the steak with salt, pepper and the chili powder. Add to the skillet and cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Transfer to a cutting board; let rest 5 minutes.
• Toss the vegetables with the lime juice and cilantro. Slice the steak against the grain. Serve with the vegetables, grits and lime wedges.

SOUTHWESTERN TURKEY WITH CHIPOTLE GRAVY

Steps:

• The day before roasting, prepare the rub: Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey; refrigerate until you make the gravy. Pat the turkey very dry with paper towels. Whisk 2 tablespoons salt, the brown sugar, chile powder, 2 teaspoons paprika, the cumin, coriander and onion powder in a small bowl. Spread about one-quarter of the rub inside the cavity of the turkey and spread the rest all over the skin. Set the turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan and refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
• The next day, let the turkey let sit at room temperature, 30 minutes. Position an oven rack in the lowest position (remove the other racks); preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Pour or wipe out any juices that have collected in the bottom of the roasting pan. Stuff the turkey cavity with the onion, carrot, celery and thyme sprigs. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wings under the body.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat; whisk in the chopped thyme and the remaining 1 teaspoon paprika. Let cool slightly, then brush all over the turkey. Transfer to the oven and roast 1 hour. Meanwhile, make the Classic Gravy, adding the heavy cream and chipotle and sauce with the stock in step 2.
• After the turkey has roasted 1 hour, baste it with the drippings. Continue roasting, basting every 30 minutes, until the skin is dark golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 2 more hours.
• Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let rest 30 minutes before carving; reserve the drippings for the gravy. Stir the vinegar into the finished gravy.
• Prepare the stock: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the turkey neck and giblets; cook, turning, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, carrot, celery, thyme and bay leaves; stir to coat. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the broth, reduce the heat to low and simmer about 1 hour. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup; reserve the saucepan. You should have 7 cups stock-if you're short, add more broth.
• Melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in the reserved saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the 7 cups stock; bring to a simmer and cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Set aside until the turkey is done.
• Pour the turkey pan drippings into a fat separator and let stand until the fat rises to the top. Discard the fat (or drizzle on your stuffing). Whisk the defatted drippings into the gravy; season with salt and pepper. Reheat before serving.

MOM'S COUNTRY GRAVY

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Gradually stir in milk so that no lumps form, and continue cooking and stirring until thickened. If the gravy becomes too thick, you may thin it with a little more milk.

SOUTHWEST-STYLE SALISBURY STEAKS

Steps:

• Using hands, gently mix first 8 ingredients in large bowl just until blended. Form into four 3/4-inch-thick oval patties. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)
• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill patties until cooked to desired doneness, about 6 minutes per side for medium-rare.
• Transfer patties to plates. Top with avocado slices and Lime-pickled Red Onions. Serve, passing salsas alongside.

SOUTHERN SAUSAGE GRAVY

Steps:

• Cook sausage in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring and breaking up with a spatula. With a slotted spoon, removed the browned crumbled sausage to a paper towel.
• Add flour, stirring until blended and bubbling. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups milk; continue stirring and cooking until thickened and bubbly. Add the crumbled sausage. If too thick, add a little more milk. Taste and add salt and pepper. Stir in a dash of cayenne pepper, if desired.
• Serve over hot split and buttered biscuits. Serve sliced tomatoes or fresh fruit with these, or serve as part of a bigger breakfast.

SOUTHWESTERN GRAVY

Steps:

• Make a roux: in a large skillet over medium heat, whisk the oil and flour together.
• Cook and whisk constantly until the roux is caramel colored (about 20 minutes so pull up a chair).
• Add in onion and cook for 5 minutes, stir frequently.
• Add in 2 cups hot water and remaining ingredients; stir to combine.
• Bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Serve over grits, scrambled eggs, polenta, chicken, pork, or black-eyed peas.

ROAST LOIN OF PORK WITH SOUTHWESTERN SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
• Rub the pork all over with the cut clove of garlic. Discard the garlic. Set the meat on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Remove the stems from two anchos and place the chilies in a blender jar. Chop and grind them to a fairly fine powder. Transfer this to a small mixing bowl.
• Stir in the chili powder, cayenne, oregano, thyme, cumin, garlic powder, coriander and celery salt. Stir until completely mixed. Remove a half-cup of the mixture and set aside for sauce. Rub the remainder all over the roast to coat completely.
• Set the roast in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Transfer the meat from the oven onto a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. It will still be raw in the center, but the cooking will be finished later; this cooling period will guarantee even cooking and very tender meat. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
• While the roast is cooking, start the sauce. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over low heat to render the fat. Remove the bacon from the pan and reserve. Drain off all but about two tablespoons of the fat. Add the minced garlic and saute for one minute. Add the red and green peppers, poblano, ancho, tomatoes and onion. Sprinkle the reserved spice mixture over the vegetables and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they are soft, about 15 minutes. Pour the red wine over the vegetables and cook until the mixture is reduced to just a glaze. Pour in the veal stock and continue cooking over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by about half, about 15 minutes. Crumble the reserved bacon into the sauce. Keep it warm while finishing the roast.
• Return the pork roast to the oven at 375 degrees. Cook 20 to 25 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted in the center reads 137 degrees. Remove from the oven and transfer to a rack. Let cool slightly before slicing into medallions.
• Serve the roast on a pool of the vegetable sauce, with corn pudding on the side.

SOUTHWESTERN TURKEY GRAVY RECIPE

Steps:

• Deglaze the pan in which the turkey was cooked and remove the fat. Measure 1/4 cup of fat and return this to the baking dish to make the gravy. Add 1/2 cup of flour to the pan juices and scrape up the browned bits from the pan. Add the chicken or turkey stock and cook over medium heat until it begins to thicken. Reduce the heat; add salt and pepper to taste. Add the chopped cilantro to the gravy just before serving. This recipe yields 20 servings. Serving size: 1/4 cup. Exchanges Per Serving: 1 Fat. Nutrition Facts: Calories - 48; Calories From Fat - 29; Total Fat - 3g; Saturated Fat - 1g; Cholesterol - 3mg; Sodium - 120mg; Total Carbohydrate - 3g; Dietary Fiber - 0g; Sugars - 0g; Protein - 1g.

SOUTHWESTERN TURKEY WITH GARLIC-ANCHO CHILI PASTE AND GRAVY

Steps:

• For paste:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Separate heads of garlic into individual cloves (do not peel). Pierce each clove once with toothpick. Scatter garlic on baking sheet; roast until tender and beginning to brown, about 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Peel garlic, cutting hard tip off each clove. Pack enough garlic into 1/2-cup measuring cup to fill (about 40 cloves); reserve any remaining garlic. Blend 1/2 cup garlic in processor to form course puree.
• Meanwhile, place chilies in small saucepan. Add enough water just to cover. Simmer over medium-low heat until chilies are soft and most of water evaporates, about 15 minutes. Add chili mixture, oil, cumin, and honey to garlic in processor. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover paste and garlic; chill.)
• For turkey:
• Pat turkey dry. Season with salt and pepper. Slide hand under skin of turkey breast to loosen skin. Spread 1/2 cup garlic-paste over breast under skin. If stuffing turkey, spoon stuffing into main cavity. Rub 2 tablespoons paste all over outside of turkey. Reserve remaining paste for gravy. Tie legs together loosely to hold shape of turkey. Place on rack set in roasting pan. (Can be done 1 day ahead if turkey is not stuffed. Chill turkey and paste separately.)
• Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 325°F. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add neck and giblets, turkey neck pieces and onion; sauté brown, about 15 minutes. Place contents of skillet around turkey in pan. Add celery, tomato, allspice and any reserved garlic to pan; pour in 2 cups broth. Roast turkey 1 hour 30 minutes. Tent turkey and entire pan loosely with heavy-duty foil. Continue to roast turkey until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 180°F. or until juices run clear when thickest part of thigh is pierced with skewer, basting often with pan juices and 3 cups broth, about 1 hour 40 minutes longer for unstuffed turkey (about 2 hours 25 minutes longer for stuffed turkey). Place turkey on platter. Tent with foil; let stand at least 30 minutes. Reserve mixture in pan for gravy.
• For gravy:
• Using tongs, remove turkey parts from pan; discard. Pour mixture in pan into sieve set over large bowl. Press on solids in sieve to release liquid. Spoon fat from pan juices; add enough broth to juices to measure 6 cups.
• Stir 1/2 cup reserved garlic-chili paste in heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until liquefied. Add flour and stir 1 minute (mixture will be very thick). Gradually add 6 cups broth mixture, whisking until smooth. Simmer until reduced to 4 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes. Season with cayenne, salt and pepper.
• Serve turkey with gravy.