Gravy..not Jamie Oliver

[QueenOfIce]

I tried his get ahead gravy and thought it was disgusting! Any tips for a really lovely gravy I can make ahead of time please?

Best Christmas gravy I ever made was from turkey stock I made with the giblets and then bisto powder.

I always leave the star anise out of Jamie’s gravy, and I use bistro powder instead of flour too. With those replacements it is splendid.

Otherwise, I cook sage and onion stuffed chicken in a bag in advance. When cooked drain all the juices and pop them in the fridge. When they set the fat comes to the top and you can take it off in a sheet. You then have the base of a really good gravy, vegetable water and Bisto and a generous blob of cranberry.

I have also used the fresh stock from Tesco for chicken and beef and it’s really good.

I’ve never had success with posh gravy recipes!

Juices in the pan, good quality chicken stock cube, splash of wine, blob of red currant jelly, grind of pepper, flour to thicken. Strain and skim off any fat afterwards.

@autumnkate I do a get ahead beef gravy too!

I usually cook a piece of beef brisket in a pot with carrots, onions and celery and a carton of Tesco fresh beef stock (£1.50) long and slow. When it’s cooked we eat the brisket cold with salad or in sandwiches or shredded in a pie. The liquid is then thickened with Bisto gravy powder and tasted, sometimes I add a but more liquid sometimes I reduce slightly.

Brisket makes the best beef gravy.

Is Bisto powder actually nice then? Doesn't it make everything taste like a cheap carvery?

All these gravy tips sound delicious, unlike mine last year when I tried to make Jamie's get ahead gravy and it looked like sick with bits of meat in (not envy)

Has anyone made decent gravy using fresh stock, red currant jelly etc, WITHOUT adding meat juices? As I won't be roasting meat on Christmas Day, my mum who lives in the next street does it and brings it over so I won't have the juices.

@PlumsGalore the chicken in a bag idea sounds ace, have you ever frozen the resulting gravy?

cunningruse I will make chicken gravy ahead of time with chicken wings for the turkey and beef for the beef. You need juices imo.

@PlumsGalore do you then keep it in the fridge? How much gravy do you find that makes and do you do anything else to it on Xmas day? Thanks!

Christmas eve, getcthe giblets out of the turkey and put them in a pan with a carrot, some celery, an onion and a handful of peppercorns and some fresh parsley if you have it.
Boil it all up for a couple hours strain.

On Christmas day, tKe the turkey out of the pan once its cooked. Drain off the fat leaving just the juices. Deglaze the pan using the stock you have made the day before . Add the rest and leacr6 it all to simmer for an hour or so. Thicken with cornflour at the end. With so much turkey juice, you will never need oxo or bistro or anything.

DH has an aversion to fat and I find using cooking juices a faff as I end up skimming and skimming. This is probably an abomination but I stick some white wine in a pan and reduce it, add a good chicken stock cube and some boiling water and keep reducing. When it’s maybe reduced by half I stir in recurrant jelly (quite a lot, but that’s what we like). If it needs it I’ll thicken with corn flour slurry.

I’ve given up bothering trying to make posh gravy. Last year I used red bisto granules, took literally 2 mins and for the whole year every time we have a roast dinner everyone bangs on about how amazing the gravy was / is and how lovely the Christmas gravy was

Says it all!

Yes that does sound disgusting courderoy

I tip the roasting pan to one side with a book then skim the fat off. Doesn't take long once you get the hang of it.

Some of these suggestions sound lovely! I'm going to give a few a go between now and Christmas.

I came on this thread after reading the title. I took my chicken thighs and legs out the freezer yesterday as I plan to do my get ahead gravy today. Will defiantly take something from the tips posted. Thank you.

My mum still makes gravy oldschool with gravy browning. She also holds back a couple of spoons of yorkshire pudding batter to thicken it up. It's handsdown the best gravy.

@Acunningruse Yes! Always - you can freeze the finished gravy or just the juice from the bag, I do it all the time 😃

Trewser - it is pretty much liquid salty redcurrant jelly

@Trewser in my opinion, Bisto powder is nothing like the granules. It can be used for all meats and just gives a lovely depth of flavour as well as a nice dark colour. It is also great for thickening. It does need to be mixed up with a small amount of water in a cup first, it's a totally different consistency to the granules so you need to follow the instructions! It's probably considered an 'old fashioned' product but for me its a staple.

@autumnkate - you can keep it in the fridge or do it well
In advance and freeze it in a large Tupperware. You actually get a lot of gravy from a fairly average brisket enough for probably four swimming adult plates or six with a lighter pouring, but if you add a couple of those Tesco fresh beef pots and extra water you will get tonnes!