The Unexpected Ingredient That Will Save Your Burnt Gravy
Whether it be to serve alongside your turkey at Thanksgiving, or to drench your biscuits with for a traditional southern breakfast, a well-made gravy goes a long way in making a meal taste delicious. Typically you can let your gravy simmer on the back burner while you prepare other dishes, but leave it unattended for a little too long, and you can easily end up with a burnt mess. If you've accidentally subjected your gravy to a bit of charring, don't throw it away just yet, because you may be able to salvage it.
According to Redditor u/d_bone, who shared their family's best kept secret on r/cooking, all you need is some peanut butter. The user explains that the addition of peanut butter works by counteracting the smokey bitter taste that results after any accidental burning. Though it does alter the flavor slightly from its original state, the peanut butter renders it edible once again. Not all comments on the thread are convinced of u/d_bone's peanut butter hack, but sources across the web, including Esquire and Zest Nutrition, confirm it's not just an old wives' tale.
How much peanut butter should you add to burnt gravy?
Peanut butter is not exactly a mild flavor, so if you're planning to add some to your gravy, it's best to do so a little at a time. Zest Nutrition recommends stirring it in teaspoon by teaspoon, and tasting as you go. The total amount of peanut butter you add will depend on the size of your batch and how burnt the gravy is. Just make sure not to scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir, blog My Cooking School advises. Otherwise, you may accidentally mix in more burnt bits with your gravy. To avoid this altogether, Zest Nutrition suggests simply straining your gravy and transferring it to a clean saucepan beforehand.
If you don't have any peanut butter on hand, you may be tempted to swap it for another nut butter, but this may not work as well unless you're using one that's equally high in fat. As Livestrong explains, in order to save burnt sauces, you need not only a flavor that can balance out the bitterness, but also fat to round it out. For burnt gravy therefore, peanut butter is the perfect solution.