The Common Mistake To Avoid When Fixing Gravy That's Too Thick

Gravy is an absolute must for turkey dinners, Salisbury steak, and a towering scoop of mashed potatoes. Despite being a simple combination of meat drippings, fat, flour, and seasoning, there are a lot of mistakes that you can make with gravy, from not making a roux, skimping on the drippings, or neglecting to whisk your gravy as it cooks.

But another common faux pas is if you use too much flour or cook your gravy for too long, it can become too thick. As such, you may try to correct it by adding in more broth or stock, but this will likely only lead to another problem: A gravy that's far too salty. The salt content in broth and stock can be pretty high. And overcooking the gravy will have already reduced the moisture content, which will have concentrated all of the flavor even more, so adding something salty could spell disaster. While some folks may not mind this super concentrated savory flavor, neglecting to balance out the saltiness will lead to a sauce that overpowers whatever it's paired with.

Luckily, this cascade of mistakes is relatively easy to fix. If you notice that your gravy is getting too thick, you can always try to thin it out with a neutral liquid — like water — instead of one that's salty, like stock or broth. However, water may not always be the best solution, as it can dilute not only the salt, but also the flavor of your gravy. You can instead add a pat of butter to the sauce, which will offer some reprieve from the saltiness without making the whole sauce too loose. Another option is to seek out low-sodium versions of stock or broth, if possible, such as these Trader Joe's organic low sodium chicken broth cartons on Amazon.

It's important to note that gravy can be over-salted even if it's not over-reduced. As such, avoid adding extra salt to your recipe until the end. That way, you can give it a taste and decide if that extra seasoning is warranted or not. You could also use MSG to boost up the savoriness of your gravy without increasing the sodium content.