5 Mouth-Watering Uses For Leftover Gravy

No matter how carefully you follow a recipe, you can't always account for individual appetites and preferences. This is why, when you're making a roast with a side of tasty gravy, you may well find yourself with leftovers of the latter. Some people, after all, go light on the sauce, while other eaters may not want any. Leftover gravy is hardly a culinary disaster, however, especially when you have half a dozen different chefs offering tips on how to use it.

We encountered said chefs at the Nassau Paradise Island Wine & Food Festival. The six chefs were as follows: Deja Rutherford, a Bahamas-based private chef who calls her business Kitchen Culture; Michael White, who runs a restaurant called Paranza at the Atlantis Bahamas vacation resort; Michael Symon, whose restaurant Angeline serves patrons of the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Chellcy Martin of Nassau's Vell Monkey Foot; J.J. Johnson, who opened the Manhattan mini-chain Fieldtrip as well as restaurants in Brooklyn and Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Ian Kittichai, who oversees restaurant operations in Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, New York, and the Bahamas. To each one, we put the question of what to do with leftover gravy. Surprisingly enough, not one suggested poutine (perhaps because none of them is Canadian). Instead, they were gracious enough to supply the answers listed below.

When we asked Deja Rutherford for her thoughts on what to do with leftover gravy, she had several: "Either make or transition something into making a whole new dish, either like a stew and you just water that down or a soup." What soup you add it to will depend on the flavor and type of the gravy. A white gravy, for example, could be used in clam chowder, while chicken or turkey gravy might be added to chicken soup to make it thicker and creamier.

Ian Kittichai is also a fan of the soup idea, telling us, "I think that adding gravy to the soup [or] when you're making chili ... would be nice." He suggested adding gravy to a somewhat unexpected soup choice: "And even tomato soup as well, give it a boost, like umami flavor as well." This checks out, actually, since condiments can enrich the flavor of even a so-so tomato soup. If you went with white gravy, it wouldn't be too different from a creamy tomato soup made with dairy, but brown gravy and tomatoes would make for a deliciously savory combo.

Pasta is always great for transforming leftovers into a different type of dish, and it works great with gravy. Michael Symon has a somewhat elaborate concept for incorporating it into DIY noodles, telling us, "If I had leftover gravy, I think I would work it into some filling for a ravioli and make some fresh pasta in a ravioli. I think it would be really fun, even if you folded it in with mascarpone so you have this liquid, gravy-filled ravioli with maybe, some leftover ham or turkey." He also suggested flavoring the gravy filling with brown butter and sage.

An easier way to blend gravy and pasta might be to use it in beef stroganoff, a classic dish that was a go-to for boomer parents. This would be best with beef gravy. Combine it with cooked ground beef or steak strips along with some sauteed mushrooms or onions, add a dash of Worcestershire sauce for flavoring, heat it up, then stir in some sour cream right at the end so it doesn't curdle. Serve the stroganoff over egg noodles for a meal that's as hearty as it is tasty.

Gravy in the United States is usually made with meat juices and fat thickened with flour or cornstarch, but Chellcy Martin says they have a different kind in the Bahamas: "We have something called steam here, which is a tomato base. So, it's like tomato, onions, garlic, and it's kind of cooked down in its own juices to make a gravy." Either type of gravy would work with her suggestion, though. "You could have basic fried chicken and then you add that sauce in and you just cook it down."

Fried chicken in gravy? Yes, it's a thing. The bone-in kind typically comes without such a sauce since it keeps its crispy coating that way. Chicken-fried chicken, however, is made from pounded boneless chicken cutlets and is typically served with a white gravy. So, too, is its better-known (and less confusingly-named) sibling, chicken-fried steak. If you use brown gravy instead of white, the meal is instead known as country-fried, although we're not quite sure what to call the dish if you go with a Bahamas-style steam. In all three cases, it's sure to taste fantastic.

Antonia Lofaso is no stranger to gravy leftovers, telling us, "I am a big fan of freezing gravy and just like always having it in a thing." As to what that thing might be, it may vary from occasion to occasion, but one of her favorites is a pot pie. "When you make your pot pie and stuff like that, I always use the leftover gravy to thicken or make my roux or the sauce that goes in it," she explained.

Pot pies aren't the only ones that could be enhanced with a little leftover gravy. If you're making Cornish or Michigan-style meat pasties, you could use it to moisten the filling. Gravy could also play a part in a cottage or shepherd's pie. In fact, if the gravy is a remnant of a certain festive occasion in late November, you could combine it with other leftovers to make a post-Thanksgiving turkey shepherd's pie.

One of the easiest ways to use leftover gravy comes from Michael White, who recommended: "Let it congeal and spread it on a sandwich. It is so good." He especially likes it on turkey sandwiches, although he hasn't admitted to going full-on Ross Gellar and creating a Moist Maker complete with cranberry sauce and stuffing. JJ Johnson also advocates for gravy on sandwiches, although he prefers a different type of poultry. In his opinion, "The best way to use leftover gravy is on a roasted chicken sandwich." His method involves smearing it on the bread like mayonnaise, then toasting the bread in the oven before piling on the rest of the ingredients.

There are a few other ways you can use gravy in a sandwich. With one addition, it could be used to top a Kentucky Hot Brown, which is an open-faced turkey and bacon sandwich with cheese sauce. It's a once-popular sandwich people don't really eat anymore, but it should be. Cheese is an easy add-in to white gravy, but it's surprisingly tasty stirred into brown gravy, as well. You could also heat leftover gravy with some cooked, crumbled sausage and pour it over baking powder biscuits for a Southern-style breakfast. (Okay, technically not a sandwich, but the combination of bread product, meat, and a condiment makes biscuits and gravy pretty sandwich-adjacent.)