RealGravy

American Style Gravies

Buttermilk Gravy

A butter roux let down with milk and then finished off the heat with cold buttermilk, which gives a gentle sourness without ever being allowed to boil and split.

  • Vegetarian
  • buttermilk
  • tangy
  • milk gravy
  • southern
Illustration of Buttermilk Gravy
Prep
3 min
Cook
12 min
Total
15 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Medium

Buttermilk gravy is the tangy cousin of country white gravy, and the technique matters more than the ingredients. Buttermilk splits the moment it boils, so it goes in at the end, off the heat, into a gravy that is already thickened. Done properly it tastes bright and slightly sour, which is exactly what you want against fried chicken or a plate of biscuits.

Ingredients

Makes about 550ml, enough for four plates

Scale

Kit

  • Heavy saucepan
  • Balloon whisk
  • Measuring jug

Method

  1. Take the buttermilk out of the fridge and let it sit on the worktop while you start. Fridge cold buttermilk hitting a hot pan is much more likely to curdle than cool buttermilk.

  2. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over a medium heat until it foams and settles. Whisk in the flour and cook for two minutes to a smooth pale paste that smells lightly toasted.

  3. Add a third of the warm milk and whisk it smooth, then add the rest in two goes. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for four minutes until it is noticeably thicker than you want the finished gravy, because the buttermilk will loosen it.

  4. Take the pan completely off the heat and let it stop bubbling. Give it a minute. This pause is the difference between smooth gravy and a curdled mess.

  5. Pour the buttermilk in a slow stream while whisking steadily. It will thin the gravy out and lighten the colour. Keep whisking until it is entirely smooth.

  6. Put the pan back over the lowest heat you can manage and warm it through for two to three minutes only, stirring. Watch it and do not let a single bubble break the surface.

  7. Season with the white and black pepper, salt to taste, and the pinch of sugar if the sourness is sharper than you want. Serve immediately, because it will not take a long stand on the hob.

Tips worth knowing

  • Buttermilk curdles at around 80C, well below boiling. Once it is in, treat the pan as if it were a custard and keep the heat very low.
  • If you cannot find buttermilk, stir a tablespoon of lemon juice or white wine vinegar into 250ml of whole milk and leave it for ten minutes. It will thicken slightly and taste right in this gravy.
  • Thicken the base gravy further than feels sensible before the buttermilk goes in. The extra 250ml of liquid loosens it a lot and you cannot simmer it down afterwards without splitting it.
  • If it does split, take it off the heat and whisk in a tablespoon of cold milk, hard. It usually pulls back. A quick blast with a stick blender will finish the job.

Change it up

  • Fry 150g of crumbled sausage meat first and build the gravy in its fat for a tangy take on Southern sausage gravy.
  • Stir in a tablespoon of chopped fresh chives and a crushed garlic clove softened in the butter for a version that goes over baked potatoes.
  • Use plant based buttermilk, made by souring soya milk with lemon juice, along with a plant butter, for a vegan gravy with the same tang.

Keeping and reheating

Keeps two days in the fridge, no longer, as the acidity dulls. Reheat very gently over a low heat with a splash of milk, stirring the whole time. It cannot be frozen, as the buttermilk separates irreversibly.

Questions people ask

How do I make buttermilk at home?

Stir a tablespoon of lemon juice or white wine vinegar into 250ml of whole milk and leave it for ten minutes until it thickens and looks slightly grainy. It is not identical to cultured buttermilk but it behaves the same way in a gravy and tastes very close.

Why did my buttermilk gravy curdle?

It got too hot. Buttermilk separates well below boiling point, so it has to go into the gravy off the heat and only be warmed through gently afterwards. Whisking in a tablespoon of cold milk off the heat will usually bring a split one back.

What do you serve buttermilk gravy with?

Fried chicken above everything else, because the sourness cuts through the fat. It also works over split savoury scones, mashed potato, chops and even roast vegetables, anywhere a plain white gravy would be a little heavy.