Description
A classic comfort food recipe featuring seasoned ground beef in a rich, creamy gravy served over fluffy mashed potatoes. Perfect for family dinners and cozy nights in.
Ingredients
For the Hamburger Gravy:
- 1½ lb ground round (ground beef)
- 3 tablespoons margarine
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
For Serving:
- Hot cooked mashed potatoes (enough for 4 generous servings)
Instructions
Put your skillet on medium-high heat. Dump in the ground beef and break it up with a spoon. Let it cook till it’s brown and crispy in spots – takes maybe 8 minutes. Pour off most of the grease but leave a little bit.
Toss the margarine in with the beef. When it melts, dump the flour on top and stir it all up. Cook this mess for a couple minutes on medium heat. It’ll smell nutty when it’s ready. Don’t skip this part or your gravy will taste like flour.
Pour in just a little milk and stir like crazy. When it’s mixed in, add more milk. Keep doing this till all the milk is in there. If you dump it all in at once you’ll get lumps. Turn the heat up a bit and keep stirring. It gets thick in about 5 minutes.
When the gravy sticks to your spoon, turn off the heat. Put in salt, pepper, and that tiny bit of cayenne. Taste it. Need more salt? Add it. More pepper? Go for it.
Dump it over mashed potatoes while it’s hot. That’s it. Dinner’s ready.
Notes
Lumpy gravy? Pour it through a strainer
Want it richer? Use half cream instead of some milk
More flavor: Splash of Worcestershire sauce
Don’t rush: Cook that flour properly or it tastes awful
In a hurry: Instant mashed potatoes work fine
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American