Homemade Gravy - No Broth!

So for those of you who don't know, I am still learning to cook. As in, when something comes out correctly i.e. edible and enjoyable, I do a small victory dance (mostly in my head but if you are over, I cannot promise you won't see a ridiculous spectacle).

That said, I have been wanting to make country fried venison again but haven't because I was out of organic beef broth and so was the store. So the other night I decided to just wing it. (The fact that we had had pizza, mac, veggie and cheese, breakfast, etc and I was out of dinner ideas was my main motivation.)

Here's what I made: pan fried venison chops, green beans, salad and ...wait for it... homemade gravy.

To start, I turned the beans on and made the salad.

I put my venison and juices into a bowl/plate with sides and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and a little horseradish powder. Next I pan fried my venison with butter in a cast iron pan, reserving the seasoned juices. Once the the venison was cooked, I let it rest on a plate while I added a little more butter to the pan and scraped off the crunchy bits. I then added flour to make a roo. Slowly, I poured a little green bean water (from the green bean pan) into the cast iron pan, whisking to combine. I added the meat juice, whisking and then the rest of the green bean juice, cooking it down until it was the thickness we liked.

 It was so good! I was very impressed because I thought I needed beef or venison broth in order to make a meat gravy. Next time, I will add some chopped mushrooms and onions.

I must admit that I am ridiculously giddy about this. I rarely improvise because in the past it has lead to many disasters but this gives me hope that beginners like me should take heart. Cooking is possible.

What new things are you trying in the kitchen?

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