rice + gravy

rice and gravy is the ultimate cajun homestyle comfort food. cajun gravy is not what the rest of the united states thinks of as "gravy" -- which usually has a fair amount of flour and stock and other things added to it. cajun gravy is formed from juices of the meat, gradoux (see my cooking philosophy), and diced onion. in the spirit of full disclosure, cajuns make their gravies many different ways, and some may even use a bit of cornstarch or flour. but, my gravy is made in the spirit of my grandparents' roasts and made without any thickening agent.

a critical part of this recipe is browning the meat. browning the meat darkly enough to make a good gravy without burning the meat is a skill that takes practice. a flavorful, dark brown gravy requires you to almost burn your roast. ideally, your roast will be brown and just seconds away from burning when you remove it from the dutch oven and throw in the diced onion. if you're a little intimated by browning the meat, read the entire recipe before you throw your roast in a pot. 

this recipe takes time and the meat is slow-cooked--producing tender meat and a wonderful aroma throughout your home. when i made this recipe, i used a sirloin tip roast. but, any roast cut will work fine, because the slow cooking will make almost any meat tender.

tools:

  • enameled cast iron dutch oven or cast aluminum dutch oven -- make sure it has a good, thick bottom
  • flat wooden spatula or spoon -- i love my bambu wooden spatula, because it's lightweight but strong and great for scraping off the gradoux 

ingredients:

  • ~2 lb. beef roast, completely defrosted
  • 4-6 bay leaves (depending on size)
  • 1 head of garlic, separate 8-12 small-medium cloves from the rest
  • kosher salt
  • fresh ground black pepper 
  • 1/8 - 1/4 tsp. dry ground cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1 jumbo sweet yellow onion
  • 6-8 cups of water
  • white rice, prepared separately

preparation:

  1. preheat oven to 325F.
  2. make bay + garlic pockets in the roast. using a small paring knife, cut a ½" - ¾" wide and 1" - 1 ½" deep slit in the roast. using your index finger, push a bay leaf (or half of one) and then a clove of garlic into the little pocket. ideally, the meat will close over the garlic + bay leaf. the leaf may crumble -- don't worry, just shove it into the pocket. continue with the remainder of your garlic and bay leaves spacing them all over the thick parts of the roast, where you can ensure you won't cut through the roast. it's ok if you can still see the garlic poking out of the meat a bit.
  3. salt + pepper the meat. generously rub coarse kosher salt and black pepper on all sides of the roast. sprinkle your desired amount of cayenne pepper. set aside roast.
  4. finely dice the onion + mince garlic. dice the onion and mince the remaining cloves of garlic. if you want a thicker gravy, puree some of the onion. set onion + garlic aside in a prep bowl.
  5. brown the meat. this is the most critical step of the recipe. put the roast into a medium/medium-high heated dutch oven. (on my stove, which ranges from 1-11, i use 6-7 -- just a bit over a true medium fire.) brown the meat for about 4 min. on each side. you want the meat to turn a dark caramely-chocolate brown -- but not black. and you want the pot to have a good amount of gradoux (see my cooking philosophy featuring a photograph of gradoux made from browning wedges of smoked sausage). the gradoux is what makes this dish. to get really good gradoux, you have to leave the meat alone -- but not unattended. set a timer. after 3 minutes, lift up just a corner of the roast. if it's dark brown, flip it and brown the other side -- check after 3 minutes. if it's not dark brown, continue to brown, but check a corner every minute to ensure the meat and gradoux on the pot don't burn. once the bottom of the pot and meat are thoroughly browned, place roast on a plate and set aside.
  6. immediately pour onion + garlic into browned pot after removing roast. lower the fire to medium. allow the onion + garlic to brown stirring occasionally and scraping the gradoux into the mix. once the bits of onion are a translucent brown, return meat to the pot. *still have light colored bits of onion? read my quick fix below.
  7. add water.  once diced onion is translucent and well-browned, add 3-4 cups of water for every pound of the roast. the water should rise at least halfway up the side of the roast. stir to ensure onion, garlic, and gradoux no longer stick to the bottom of the pot. bring to a boil, and boil for 4 minutes.
  8. cover and place in 325F oven for 2 hours for every pound of meat. check on the roast every hour or so. though i prefer to provide estimates of spices, for this recipe, you'll have to taste the gravy and add salt as needed. my favorite method for taste-testing gravy is to tear a piece of baguette to dip in the gravy. 
  9. serve over rice. beware of the bits of bay leaves remaining in the roast. they usually clump together and you can easily remove them with a fork.

*uh oh! i don't seem to have very much gradoux and i already put the onion +garlic in the pot! or i scraped up the gradoux and cooked my onion + garlic but they're still pretty light! don't worry. if after removing the browned meat and adding the onion + garlic mixture,  you don't have as much gradoux as you need and your bits of onion are a light brown, you can still end up with a great gravy. just scrape most of the onion and garlic toward the sides of the pot, put the meat back in the center of the pot, turn the fire back to medium-high, and brown the meat a bit more with the onion and garlic. sometimes it helps to put a bacon press on top of the roast to add weight and provide more contact between the roast and the pot. the onion will caramelize as the meat darkens, giving you a darker gravy. be attentive to ensure your meat, onion, and garlic don't burn.