The Top Ten Countdown: Number 6

The sixth most popular recipe on Margaret's Morsels is Dried Beef Gravy. Whether you serve it with biscuits or toast points, you'll say it's good gravy!

© Margaret's Morsels

Company's Coming: Dinner Edition

When we have company -- either overnight or dinner guests -- I like to serve Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy.  It isn't difficult to prepare, is always well received and is one of my family's favorite recipes.

Normally when I cook something for the first time, I take out the offending ingredients -- the things my family won't eat -- and, in the case of most entree recipes, add a can of mushrooms.  The recipe for Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy has the distinction of being one of only a few in my recipe box that I didn't have to change to suit my family's taste.

The pork chops take an hour to cook, but the time it takes to put dinner on the table can be shortened by doing prep work ahead of time.

Chop the onion and green pepper and store them with the mushrooms in a covered container or resealable plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Combine the dry ingredients -- flour, salt and pepper -- in a resealable plastic bag and set aside.  The pork chops will be coated with this mixture, but it will also be used to thicken the gravy.  For this reason, I use Wondra instead of all-purpose flour.  Wondra, also known as gravy flour, is a finely ground all-purpose flour that dissolves instantly and is unlikely to form lumps.  If you don't have Wondra, use all-purpose, but not self-rising flour.

When you're ready to cook, coat the pork chops with the dry ingredients. The easiest way to do this is to put the pork chops in the plastic bag two at a time.  Seal the bag and shake it until both sides of the pork chops are thoroughly coated with the mixture.  Set the coated pork chops aside and continue the process until all the pork chops are coated.  Don't discard the remaining flour mixture.

Melt the margarine over high heat in a large 12-inch skillet.  Put four pork chops in the skillet; don't put more than four in at once because overcrowding will keep the meat from browning properly.  Cook the pork chops for one minute; turn the pork chops over and cook the other side for one minute.  The pork chops will be light brown and there won't be any pink on the top.  Transfer the pork chops to a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.  Repeat the process with the remaining pork chops.

Notice the color of the pork chops 

after being cooked for one minute.

The rest of the recipe is pretty straight forward.  Saute the onion, green pepper and mushrooms in the same skillet until the onion and green pepper are soft.  Sprinkle the reserved flour mixture over the vegetables, stirring to combine.  Slowly stir in the milk and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for two minutes or until the gravy is thickened, stirring constantly.

The thickened gravy.

Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in lemon juice.  Lemon juice may sound out of place in this recipe, but it serves an important purpose. Lemon juice enhances the flavor of food without adding many calories. Pour the gravy over the pork chops, spreading to cover all the pork chops. Cover the pan with foil and bake in a 350° oven for one hour.

Ready to be covered with foil and baked.

The pork chops cook in the gravy which keeps them moist and tender. The gravy is delicious over the pork chops, but it's even better served with a starch, such as rice or mashed potatoes.  Add a green vegetable and you've got a delicious dinner.

I've always had good luck with this recipe which is one reason I like serving it to company.  When our company leaves, I know they leave content, well fed and, more often than not, with a copy of the recipe.

Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy

6 to 8 Servings

1/2 cup Wondra or all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

6 to 8 boneless pork chops (1-inch thick)

1/4 cup margarine

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper (I use frozen)

1 (4 oz.) can mushroom stems and pieces, drained

2 cups milk

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag.  Add pork chops, two at a time, tossing to coat.  Set remaining flour mixture aside.

Melt margarine in a large 12-inch skillet.  Cook pork chops in margarine one minute; turn pork chops over and cook the other side one minute. When done, transfer to a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish.

In the same skillet, saute the onion, green pepper and mushrooms until the onion and green pepper are soft.  Stir in the reserved flour mixture. Gradually add milk, stirring to combine.  Bring the mixture to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice.  Pour gravy over pork chops.  Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350° for 60 minutes.

© Margaret's Morsels

Good Gravy!

Unless something happens and I jump on the gravy bandwagon, this will be the only blog I ever post about gravy.  The only gravy I serve comes from a jar at Thanksgiving, a packaged mix when I fix chicken fried steak or is created by an entree as it cooks.


My mom was a typical Southern cook and made gravy every available opportunity.  There was turkey gravy at Thanksgiving, giblet gravy with boiled eggs at Easter, redeye gravy, sausage gravy and brown gravy, to name a few.  She also made dried beef gravy which has the distinction of being the only gravy I would eat as a child and the only gravy I actually cook as an adult.


If you've never had dried beef, you've probably seen it at the grocery store. It's usually sold in glass jars and is typically found in the canned meat aisle.

Dried beef, also known as chipped beef, is very thin slices of smoked, salted and dried beef.  I don't care for dried beef in other dishes, but I absolutely love it in gravy.  Technically, though, dried beef gravy isn't a gravy, but a sauce.


Gravy is made from the fat and juices -- drippings -- that remain after cooking meat and is always served hot.  The sauce for dried beef gravy starts with a roux.  Roux is the French term for cooking a mixture of fat and flour over low heat.  A liquid is added and the mixture is cooked until it reaches the desired thickness.  Unlike gravy, sauces can be served hot or cold.  There are many different kinds of sauces, but dried beef gravy is actually a white sauce which is known as Bechamel.


There are two things to remember when you make gravy.  One, make sure you have all the ingredients ready to use.  Gravy has to be stirred constantly so you won't have time to measure things after you start cooking.  Two, cook gravy over medium-low to low heat to keep the mixture from scorching.


Dried beef gravy only uses five ingredients so there's very little prep work required.  The pieces of dried beef are rolled together and need to be cut into small pieces.  The easiest -- and quickest -- way to do this is unroll the beef and cut them all at once with a pair of kitchen shears.

Unrolled and uncut.

Cut into pieces.

Put the shortening in a large skillet and heat it over medium-low heat. Once it's melted, add the dried beef and cook it a minute or two, just long enough for it to get a little brown.  Add the flour and cook it five minutes to remove the starchy taste.

The flour after it's been cooked five minutes.

You can use all-purpose or gravy flour, but not self-rising flour.  Gravy flour, better known as Wondra, is a finely ground all-purpose flour that dissolves instantly and is unlikely to form lumps.  Wondra makes a smooth gravy, but I stick with all-purpose flour which is what my mother always used.

Once the flour has cooked, add the liquid in this case evaporated milk and water.  Evaporated milk is a canned milk that has 60% of the water removed.  It's wonderful for gravy because it adds a creamy texture.  It's available in regular, low-fat and nonfat varieties.  I use nonfat which is akin to skim milk.  Skim milk is an acquired taste so use regular or low-fat evaporated milk if you want a richer flavor.

Once the ingredients are combined, let them come to a boil, stirring the whole time.  Continue to cook and stir the gravy until it's the right consistency.  Most gravy recipes tell you to bring the gravy to a boil and stir it one or two minutes.  My experience with dried beef gravy is it takes longer -- about five minutes -- to thicken.  If the gravy isn't thickening enough, you can increase the heat to medium, but make sure to stir the gravy constantly.

The gravy can be served over toast, but I prefer biscuits.  My mother always made homemade biscuits, but I purchase frozen biscuits and cook however many I need.  I'm not a fan of canned biscuits, but if that's what you like or have on hand, you could substitute them instead.  Or, you could make a batch of homemade biscuits.

Whether you call it gravy or sauce, serve it with toast or biscuits, dried beef gravy is a great addition to your recipe box.  It's a different gravy than most people are used to eating, but it's good gravy!

Dried Beef Gravy

4 Servings

3 Tbsp. shortening

1 (2.25 oz.) jar dried beef, cut into pieces

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

1/2 cup water

Melt shortening in skillet over medium-low heat.  Add dried beef; brown just a minute or two.  Add flour and cook for 5 minutes.  Combine milk and water.  Add to flour mixture and cook until it reaches the desired thickness.

© Margaret's Morsels