The Popular Restaurant Chain That Makes Brown Gravy Fresh Every Day

There are some chain restaurants that are beloved for their gravy. KFC's mashed potatoes and gravy may have its detractors, but many still love it, even though Colonel Sanders disliked KFC's gravy once the chain expanded to the point that they could no longer use his recipe. There is a pretty clear ranking of the best chain restaurant biscuits and gravy, many of them homemade. 

But when it comes to a tasty, fresh, beef-based topping that's delicious on pot roast, mashed potatoes, and meatloaf, one that you can trust has been made in-house that very day, you may want to turn toward Cracker Barrel. Not only does Cracker Barrel make its brown gravy from scratch daily, but "all day long," as it says on the company website. This presumably means that it's not just one huge vat made in the morning to last the whole day, but multiple batches made ultra-fresh at each location as they work through the day. 

Cracker Barrel's brown gravy is thick and savory with a decent kick of black pepper. It's heavy enough to hold together, so it won't completely spill off your mashed potatoes when poured over, but still nice and smooth — not gelatinous or gloopy. While a from-scratch recipe can be relatively simple, with few ingredients, it still requires a hand at the stove, constantly stirring the roux or base, so it will emulsify properly without the lumps. Although this is much more costly than shipping pre-made gravy from state to state, Cracker Barrel espouses its commitment to homemade ingredients, and it comes through in that beautiful, glistening, umami-rich brown liquid.

Aside from the usual suspects, like beef and pork, Cracker Barrel's homemade brown gravy can be delicious on some items you may have never even considered. Sub it for the poultry version on your chicken or turkey dishes for a nice pop of beefy flavor. It can add more home-cooked richness poured over hashbrown casserole, tater tots, green beans, or steamed broccoli. It's great for dipping steak fries, fried onion petals, biscuits, or even breakfast toast. And while you will be charged for an extra side, if you're ordering something that comes with brown gravy, just get it on the side for easy dipping. It might just be the new hot, salty, comforting condiment you never knew you needed.

If you want to re-create it at home, packages of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Gravy Mix are available via Instacart or in grocery stores in some areas. There are a lot of copycat recipes online, but you need to be fastidious with the stuff because there are also a multitude of mistakes everyone makes when making gravy. The key to a great, from-scratch brown gravy is a well-made roux. You'll need to start with fat (usually butter) cooked with flour into a fairly thick but exceedingly smooth and glossy base — that's bubbling and not pasty — before you whisk in the beef broth. But when you want the real deal, Cracker Barrel has you covered with a fresh batch of gravy that will cover whatever you care to put it on.