Doppelbock Wild Mushroom Gravy
Wild mushrooms not only add texture, flavor and umami to this Doppelbock Wild Mushroom Gravy, but give this sauce an earthiness that complements the style turkey | chicken, or pork you are serving. While this gravy is delicious for Thanksgiving, it can be served throughout the year. Rich, hearty, full of nutrients, both from the wild mushrooms and the stock | bone broth, this recipe can be added to many different dishes, or made into a new dish. Try serving this Doppelbock Wild Mushroom Gravy over Spätzle | Spaetzle, Roasted Garlic IPA , Mashed Potatoes, with a Porter Beer Brined Pork Shoulder, Beer Brined Free Range Chicken, or a grilled hanger steak.
This recipe is perfect to portion out, into serving sizes for you, your family and friends. It will hold in your freezer for up to a year and can be thawed quickly to be a great sauce.
Makes: 1 1/2 quarts
- 4 ounce butter, unsalted
- 2 each shallots peeled and diced
- 2 pound mushrooms, wild or mixed mushrooms
- 12 ounce Beer, Dopplebock
- 2 quart stock, turkey, duck or chicken, preferably homemade
- In a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat, add the butter. Once melted add the shallots and sauté for 4 – 5 minutes.
- To clean the wild mushrooms: use a wet paper towel to help remove some of the dirt, pine needles and any other debris from the outside of the fungus. Slice or chop them, keeping with a cut style with each variety of mushroom. Add the mixed mushrooms to the shallots, with a healthy pinch of salt. Sauté for 8 - 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms have released their water and begin to caramelize. If the pan isn't large enough, sauté mushrooms in batches.
- Deglaze the pan with the Doppelbock, scraping any fond from the bottom of the pan. Let the beer reduced by half, to intensify the flavor and style essence. Add the stock. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to a simmer and cook for 20 - 30 minutes. The final sauce should reduce to about 3 – 4 cups of liquid. Taste and adjust seasons with salt and freshly cracked pepper.
- I don’t use a roux (butter and flour) to thicken my gravy, as I like to condense the flavors instead of just thickening them. This will yield a richer tasting gravy.
Mushroom Substitutions:
Dried mushrooms can be used for this recipe, in replace of fresh if they aren’t available. To use dried mushrooms in this recipe, boiling the stock and add 8 – 12 ounces of dried mushrooms, and let sit covered for 30 minutes, to re-hydrate them. Scoop the mushrooms out of the stock using a slotted spoon or skimmer and add them to the sautéed shallots. Strain the stock through a sieve lined with a coffee filter of clean paper towel, in with the mushrooms and shallots. This will remove any dirt or debris that might be in the dried mushrooms. Alternatively, you can decant the stock, leaving behind the sediment/debris behind.
Beer Substitutions and Suggestions:
Instead of using a Doppelbock, other beer flavors will marry well with the umami rich mushrooms. Try a low hopped Barleywine, Brown Ale, English Mild, Smoked Stout, Oktoberfest or Oud Bruin. All these styles will be good substitutes and create a special gravy.
For more holiday recipes, check out my Thanksgiving Holiday Feast Menu.
