Gravy

Name: Gravy
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: roasting pan with juices from a roast, chicken, turkey, beef, pork or lamb; 40 g (3 tbsp) fat from the roast or butter; 35 g (¼ cup) all-purpose flour; 100 ml (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) wine, cider or water, white for poultry and pork, red for beef and lamb; 600 ml (2½ cups) hot stock, Chicken Stock or Brown Stock, or good store-bought; 1 tsp soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce, optional, for depth; 1 tsp redcurrant jelly, optional, for lamb and game; fine sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Smooth, deeply savory gravy from a roast or without one

Makes: about 600 ml (2½ cups)
Hands-on: 15 min
Total: 20 min
Level: Easy

Proper gravy is the roasting juices thickened with a quick roux and loosened with good stock. This method works with any roast and, with the variation, even without one.

Ingredients

roasting pan with juices from a roastchicken, turkey, beef, pork or lamb
40 gfat from the roast or butter (3 tbsp)
35 gall-purpose flour (¼ cup)
100 mlwine, cider or water (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp)white for poultry and pork, red for beef and lamb
600 mlhot stock (2½ cups)Chicken Stock or Brown Stock, or good store-bought
1 tspsoy sauce or Worcestershire sauceoptional, for depth
1 tspredcurrant jellyoptional, for lamb and game
fine sea salt and black pepperto taste

Allergens: gluten, milk, celery, sulphites, soy, fish

Method

Lift the roast onto a board to rest. Tip the pan so the juices collect in a corner and spoon off the fat into a bowl, leaving the darker juices behind. Measure 40 g (3 tbsp) of the fat back into the pan.
Set the pan over medium heat (across two burners if large). Sprinkle in the flour and stir with a whisk or wooden spoon for 2 minutes, scraping up the browned bits, until it smells toasty and turns light brown.
Pour in the wine and whisk hard; it will form a thick paste. Let it bubble for 30 seconds.
Gradually whisk in the hot stock, a ladle at a time, until smooth.
Simmer, whisking now and then, until the gravy coats the back of a spoon, 5–8 minutes. 6 min
Add any juices from the resting meat, the soy or Worcestershire and the redcurrant jelly if using. Taste and season.
Strain into a warm jug for a smooth gravy.

Why it works

Cooking the flour in fat (a roux) coats the starch so it disperses smoothly and removes the raw taste; the browned juices in the pan bring concentrated roast flavor. Starch only fully thickens at a simmer, so the gravy needs a few minutes of bubbling. A splash of soy or Worcestershire adds glutamates that deepen meatiness, especially if the roast gave few juices.

Common mistakes

Adding cold stock all at once: lumps. Use hot stock, gradually, and whisk.
Using all the fat: greasy gravy. Measure it.
Pale gravy: cook the roux a little longer or add a dash of soy for color.

Variations

Make-ahead gravy without a roast: Roast 1 kg chicken wings with 1 onion and 1 carrot at 220°C (425°F) for 50 minutes. Use the fat and the pan as above with 750 ml stock, simmer 20 minutes and strain. Keeps 3 days, freezes 3 months.
Onion gravy: Stir 150 g Caramelized Onions into the finished gravy; for sausages and Kjøttkaker (Norwegian Meat Patties in Brown Gravy).

Make ahead and storage

Keeps 3 days in the fridge and freezes for 3 months. Reheat gently, whisking in a little stock.

Notes

For gluten-free gravy, leave out the flour and whisk 2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp cold water into the simmering stock; use tamari instead of soy sauce. Worcestershire sauce contains fish (anchovy). It is built for roasts and makes enough for 6; for a single pan of seared meat, the butter-finished Five-Minute Pan Sauce is quicker and needs no flour.