BASIC WHITE SAUCE AND VARIATIONS

Basic White Sauce and Variations image

This Basic White Sauce can have many variations, and Sooo Good with Sooo Many Things. You can call it Biscuit Gravy, Milk Gravy, Country Gravy or with one of my variations I call it "Poor Man's Alfredo Sauce". This is my eight year old friend Isabel ready to serve up Breakfast, which she prepared. (She is standing on a stool, to...

Provided by Gary Hancq

Time 30m

Number Of Ingredients 5

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Ingredients

2 c Milk or Butter Milk
1/4 stick Butter (Optional)
2 Tbsp Bacon Grease Or Breakfast Sausage Grease (Optional)
3 Tbsp Corn Starch heaping
dash(es) Salt and Pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Heat milk in fry pan do not boil but bring to low simmer.
2. When milk is heated stir the corn starch into 1/2 cup cold water and mix well.
3. Reduce heat and stir in the corn starch mixture to the milk. Stir well. then turn up heat again to medium and slow simmer, continue stirring. Note: Corn Starch has to come to a rolling simmer or slow boil in order for it to thicken.
4. Simmer on low for approximately 10 minutes. Then very low to keep warm. When re-heating add a small amount of additional milk, stir well.
5. Here's the variations: Add shredded Dried Beef, cooked and crumpled breakfast sausage, or fried hamburger loosely cooked for Great Biscuit Gravy. Add finely shredded or powdered cheese and melt well for serving over Asparagus or Salmon Patties. Add 1/2 to 2/3 cup Sour Cream, 2 teaspoons garlic powder and 2/3 cup Parmesan Cheese to make my "Poor Man's Alfredo Sauce".
6. Other variations: Add a bit of Garlic and Onion Powder, and cheese and add to Augratin Potatoes. I make a cheesey batch of this for my Maccaroni and Cheese dishes. Also add to Tuna and Noodle casserole without the cheese. The possibilities are endless. Add a dash of "Kitchen Bouquet" if you want to brown it slightly for Chicken Fried Steak. Replace the 2 cups milk with a can of Condensed Milk and a can of water and you have a different and richer taste.
7. Note: You can make a basic White sauce with flour and butter or grease, but the Corn Starch method provides for a quicker and easier and more lump free final product usually.
8. Pictured is my eight year old friend Isabel making Biscuit Gravy for the crowd. She added Dried Beef torn into pieces for this one. Isabel with minimum oversight prepared everything involved in our Thanksgiving Dinner. It is refreshing to see a youngster with such an avid interest. She Rocks.