Gravy 101
Cutting wayyyyy back on carbohydrates means giving up some foods we know and love, like sauces and gravies which are often thickened with wheat flour, or corn starch.
But mustard comes to the rescue. If you are cooking meat in a pan with olive or coconut oil, you will have some nice pan drippings in the bottom. Add a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, swish it around, then deglaze the pan, finish with cream and voila. A very nice sauce. And I don’t know about you, but I like to see that sauce pooled on a warm plate, with the glistening sautéed chop laid on top. Yum.
We try to eat organ meats weekly for their nutrient dense properties – lots of iron and trace minerals and by adding a lovely sauce they’re all the better.
I buy organic chicken livers at Whole Foods, bring them home, rinse and drain them in a colander. Now in the pre-diet days, I’d have dusted them with flour, but now I toss them with a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, then quickly sauté in a pan filmed with olive oil and butter.
You don’t really need a recipe to do this. Just get out a big heavy skillet and preheat it dry, then add a bit of olive oil and butter. (No I’m not going to tell you how much. I expect you to eyeball it and figure this out.)
After the chicken livers have been tossed with mustard, a bit of salt and cracked pepper, transfer them using tongs to the hot fat and cook on the first side until you begin to see blood pooling on the top, turn and continue on the second side until brown. Transfer to paper towel coated plate to drain.
Now make the sauce.
You’ll see browned bits in the bottom of the pan. Add another tablespoon or so of mustard and stir it around, scraping up bits from the bottom of the pan. Now deglaze the pan with a couple teaspoons of bourbon, or balsamic, or water, stirring vigorously. Pour in about 1 cup heavy cream and cook and stir until you have a nice, thick sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and cracked black pepper as needed.
Pool the sauce on a warmed dinner plate, top with cooked meat. Yum.
