CALLING GOOD GRAVY MAKERS/CHEFS

[IShitChristmasGlitter]

I want to do some prep for Christmas...

Now heres the thing I can cook am a bloody cook at that but my gravy is a little crap my MIL makes the gravy on Christmas day with the lamb juices ect but theres only ever a small amount of it.

I asked years ago about good roasties on here now I make the best roasties because of it.

Anyway...am going to do jamies get ahead gravy this week maybe havent decided if I want to make that yet.

I was thinking trying to do something similar with lamb instead in Morrisons they sell raw lamb bones with plenty of meat on would this work maybe roast them with some veggies and do the same kind of thing as get ahead gravy?

Another massive fan of Bisto powder, use it all the time, even with pork gravy (1/2 bisto 1/2 cornflour so it doesn't go too dark but actually looks like gravy still)

You can still buy gravy browning. Maggi is one brand.

Op please can you tell me how you do your roasties?! It's the best bit of a roast dinner and mine are so rubbish. It's the first Christmas without my lovely dad and he made the most amazing roasties they were so crispy and perfect bless him 😔

@BumHairDontCare

Put a good amount of veg oil in roasting tray and put in hot hot oven.

parboil your potatos for about 10mins enough so they are still hard but soft around the edges then drain and put back in the pan put salt and pepper on pop the lid on pan and give them a good shake.

Take tray out of oven and put potatoes in it should sizzle as they go in then pop in oven until done turn half way through.

How hot hot are we talking here @IShitChristmasGlitter?

Thank you IShitChristmasGlitter! I will try them on Sunday 💐

I made Jamie's get ahead Tracey for Christmas last year. It was great and will be doing it again this year. I am a bit curious about history powder though. I think I will have a look for it next time I go shopping

Gravey even 😂

I love gravy!

With lamb I use the meat juices, add to the bone stock you make (unless u use meat juices for the potatoes).

I often use knorr cubes if in a hurry 😱. I usually add a glass of red wine too with some red currant jelly for sweetness, not too much tho.

Definitely bisto powder .... granules are shockingly hideous

Mum used to make gravy with the juices from whatever meat we were having, cornflour, water and an OXO cube in the frying pan.

If you leave the onion skins on when you put them under the joint (or with the bones) it adds colour naturally, but I am also a big fan of the Knorr stock pots.

So under my joint goes roughly chopped carrots (skin on) onions (skins on, including papery bits) and two sticks of roughly chopped celery and a glug of water.

I also always use the boiled carrot water as the majority of fluid and a spash of wine.

The dc (15 and 13) say mine is the best gravy in the world. Which is a very double edged sword as they now hate going out for Sunday lunch!

I buy Jamie get ahead gravy. Saw it in Sainsbury's last week V expensive but good. I'm getting some more for Christmas Dinner, then will learn to make as it's delicious

Cook a 1/2 shoulder of lamb in a slow cooker.

Just shove the lamb in and switch to high. 4 hours later pour the liquid (that has come off the meat - you don't put any liquid in to cook) into a bowl to cool.

If you are eating the lamb as a roat then this is the instructions for that. Otherwise skip to the next bit.

15mins before serving take out the lamb and wrap in foil to keep warm. boil a kettle. get a whisk ready.

Sprinkle some flour into the sc, whisk like mad. Start to add water, continue whisking, add your chosen gravy boost, I'm an oxo cube fan rather than bisto powder so I use oxo. Then leave it until ready to serve - you may need to pass it through a sieve due to bits of meat.

OK the following day the bowl with the lamb fat will have settled and separated in to a thick gel on the bottom and white fat on top.

The fat makes fab fried bread.

The gel is the gold of your gravy.

Heat the gel in a pan, you probably don't need the whole amount, it depends on how much gravy you want, rough rule of thumb - get a pan the size of the gravy you want and the gel should be just under an inch in the pan.

Heat the pan, once the gel has melted sprinkle in some flour, work it in with a wooden spoon and then continue stirring as you add the boiling water, add your oxo / bisto powder and keep stirring.

At this point you can add any seasoning, or red wine of your choice, I don't usually bother.

You should now have a pan of gravy.

I had no idea about the difference between Bisto 'granules' and bisto 'powder'!
Who knew!?

I had no idea about the difference between Bisto 'granules' and bisto 'powder'! Who knew!?

Those of us brought up in the 1970s and before when granules and thickeners were not even dreamed of.

@IShitChristmasGlitter That is EXACTLY how my mum taught me to make roasties... they are awesome everytime.

At Christmas we use goose fat rather than veg oil and the fat has to be sizzling hot when the par boiled potatoes go in (I put the pan in the oven with the fat when the potatoes go in to boil so at least ten mins.)

Also-don't use non stick tray, pirex is best.

Back to gravy-also a big fan of bisto powder and Jamie's make ahead turkey gravy is fab but too much star anise for me!

Ive never used anything but cornflour and gravy browning to make gravy. Yrs ago i was i a local corner shop buying both and an old man came in and the door us by the till, he noticed what I was buying and said “ohh a young person who knows how to make gravy.” Bless him, i though it must be rare!

I always make onion and tomato gravy

Fry a couple of thinly sliced onions in butter, after 15 mins add one tomato. Add a spoon of plain flour then some veg stock, worcester sauce, soy sauce, a bit of port or red wine, black pepper, simmer a bit more. Whiz it all in blender. You can add it to any meat juices, or serve on its own.

I always use Bisto powder - our local shop used to stock it but now I can only get it from the larger supermarkets - the comments here make me realise there’s a whole generation who don’t know about it - you all need to increase the sales of Bisto powder so it can experience a revival!

I don’t like the star anise in JO’s get ahead gravy but otherwise it’s nice. I rate Knorr as the best stock cubes/pots if you plan to go down that road.

PuffPuffSea

I put the tray in at gas 7 while the pots are boiling then put up to 8 while they cook.