Brandied Tomato Gravy

Every cook needs a good gravy in their back pocket, and this one punches well above its weight.

A simple butter-and-flour roux gets built up with beef broth, canned tomatoes, and a splash of brandy that rounds out the acidity with a warm, boozy smoothness.

The secret ingredient? Meat extract paste. Just half a teaspoon adds a concentrated, beefy depth that would otherwise take hours of stock-making to achieve.

Pour it over roast beef, slather it on meatloaf, or drown your mashed potatoes in it. This gravy doesn’t judge.

Kitchen Tips

• Cook the roux for a full minute before adding liquids. This eliminates the raw flour taste that plagues too many homemade gravies.
• Add the liquids gradually and stir constantly. Dumping everything in at once leads to lumpy gravy, and nobody wants that.
• Finely chop the drained tomatoes so they melt into the sauce. You want a smooth, pourable consistency, not chunky.
• Meat extract paste (like Bovril) is the shortcut to deep, meaty flavor. Look for it near the bouillon cubes at the grocery store.
• This gravy thickens as it cools. If reheating, thin it out with a splash of broth until it reaches your preferred consistency.