other

consistently good gravy

servings
4–6

method

There are two things that make a good gravy: a vegetable trivet, which is the layer of vegetables in the bottom of your roasting tray that your meat sits on; and the juices from a roasted piece of good-quality meat.

As long as you always use a vegetable trivet and buy good-quality meat, your gravy will taste like heaven whether you use water or stock. Follow my method for making gravy and you’ll never look back.

To make your gravy
• When you come to make your gravy, your chicken will be covered and resting and you’ll have your tray of chicken juices and vegetable trivet in front of you
• Using a spoon, carefully remove 90 per cent of the hot fat from the tray by angling it away from yourself and scooping off the fatty layer that settles on top
• Put the tray back on the hob over a high heat
• Add the flour, stir it around and, holding the tray steady with a tea towel in one hand, use a potato masher to mash all the veg to a pulp – don’t worry if it’s lumpy
• You can rip the wings off the chicken and break them up into the tray to add more flavor at this point
• When everything is mixed and mashed up, add the alcohol to give a little fragrance before you add your stock (the alcohol will cook away)
• Keep it over the heat and let it boil for a few minutes
• Pour the stock into the tray, or add 1 liter of hot water
• Bring everything in the pan to the boil, scraping all the goodness from the bottom of the pan as you go
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until you’ve achieved the gravy consistency you’re looking for

To serve your gravy
• Get yourself a large jug, bowl or pan and put a coarse sieve over it
• Pour your gravy through the sieve, using a ladle to really push all the goodness through
• Discard any veg or meat left behind
• At this point you’ve got a really cracking gravy, and you can either serve it straight away or put it back on the heat to simmer and thicken up
• Depending on which meat I’m serving it with, I’ll add a teaspoonful of horseradish, mustard, redcurrant jelly, cranberry, mint or apple sauce – you certainly don’t have to, but I think the little edge of complementary flavor you get from doing this is brilliant

• from Jamie's Ministry of Food

ingredients

As well as your roasted veg and roast chicken, you’ll need:
• 1 heaped dessertspoon plain flour
• a wine glass of red wine, white wine or cider, or a good splash of port or sherry
• 1 liter vegetable, chicken or beef stock, preferably organic

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1. by Karolina on Sun 08 Jan 2012 @ 19:26

I´m having a lonely sunday evening, noone to invite. I thought that I wanted to make a feast dinner for me anyway and looked Jamie up. It has sofar been a great evening, and that chicken really did it! I came to some important conclusions in my life this evening too! Karolina

2. by Linda on Sun 25 Dec 2011 @ 13:32

Cheers Jamie , just what I was looking for! Linda www.kinderkamer-shop.nl

3. by ireneo c dimasacupan jr on Sun 18 Dec 2011 @ 16:44

chef jamie i love your team.

4. by Matthew Broadbent on Sun 06 Nov 2011 @ 20:43

Used it today was a mazing!

5. by Paul on Mon 03 Oct 2011 @ 23:06

That recipe rocked! However, I made a few adjustments, nothing too wild though (sorry mate, i'm sure the original way is great). I basted the chicken during cooking with a glass of white wine and half a cup of chicken stock. So by the end, it was difficult to try and scoop the fat, so I didn't bother. I mashed up all the veg, simmered and added another cup of chicken stock, the meat of the chicken wings, a shot of brandy and some sifted flour. I really liked the chunky texture, so just served as it was and it was AMAZING. My wife and I could have just ate the gravy on it own (but the roast chicken was bit brilliant too!).

6. by Jill (UK) on Mon 03 Oct 2011 @ 18:56

I used this along with Jamie's Perfect Roast Beef recipe. I had to add cornflour to thicken it as normal flour just didn't do the trick. The beef was cooked on top of onions, carrots, parsnips, garlic and rosemary - turned into a gorgeous gravy!

7. by Greig on Sat 03 Sep 2011 @ 08:16

My first attempt at the gravy was a disaster a few months back but I suspect I didn't use enough stock or I hadn't used fresh stock. Initially it was quite arid & bitter in flavor 80% veg/20% chicken seemed to be the end result After trying it a second time, i was a lot more successful, but I can still improve. I wasn't quite able to remove enough of the fat, and the gray really didn't thicken up enough, even with flour added. However, a vast improvement in flavour, and a priceless sense of achievement nonetheless. Practice makes perfect and I'm sure I'll get it right next time.

8. by kat on Sun 31 Jul 2011 @ 09:19

just finished eating my roast chicken dinner & the gravy was the nicest i have ever tasted in my life!!!!!! so yummy!!!!

9. by jenni on Fri 25 Sep 2009 @ 11:07

Never attempted my own gravy before....it was awesome

10. by Simon J. on Fri 31 Jul 2009 @ 22:24

Bad Gravy:
=======
I made the 'perfect roast chicken' + the gravy from Ministry of Food book.
Its the first time I've ever done a roast! The chicken was fantastic. But it took so long to make the gravy that my roast potatoes & veg were shriveled up. The gravy was a disaster really - despite straining off a lot of fat it still tasted fatty & was watery even after boiling for10mins. The gravy really was a horrible taste. I shall look forward to finding out how to make it better now anyway!
P.S. what roasting trays are suitable for use on a gas hob to cook the gravy?

11. by jean on Sat 09 May 2009 @ 15:34

Hi,How can I make a nice gravy for a caserole without roast meat juices?

12. by naresha waa on Sun 01 Mar 2009 @ 03:09

hi jamie love your work
just wondering if i was going to buy port or sherry for cooking is one better? as we are a family who dont drink alcohol but i have different wines in the house just for cooking with, is there a much diference?
from all the way down in new zealand

13. by naresha waa on Sun 01 Mar 2009 @ 03:08

14. by Jim on Sun 11 Jan 2009 @ 11:49

Great stuff! Really good gravy and the late straining makes it almost fool prrof. Did this last night at my girlfriends for 9 of us and went down a storm! They didn't have a masher so instead of mashing the veg before adding the stock, I cooked it all up and then gave it a wizz with a hand blender. It worked really well! If you like your gravy extra thick and you don't want to use loads of flour give it a go- I know its edging more at a rich soup than a gravy, but the results were pretty awesome!

Thanks!

15. by menorca on Sun 04 Jan 2009 @ 17:31

I have just made real gravy for the first time. It was delicious! I also served up my usual bisto incase my family didnt like my new gravy. The Bisto remained untouched. Thanks Jamie.

16. by jacqueline on Wed 31 Dec 2008 @ 06:32

Can anyone tell me the best veg to use for the trivet?

17. by Eve on Sun 28 Dec 2008 @ 05:34

I love you Jamie and I am willing to translate to U.S. English all your recipes...dessertspoon? Liter?.....: )

18. by Neil on Sat 27 Dec 2008 @ 17:21

Hi Annie21. Have you tried copying and pasting the text into a word document, and printing from there? Give it a go. Hope this helps.

19. by Michelle on Sat 27 Dec 2008 @ 06:34

Not sure who reads this, but anyone who does: do you know how I get hold of old "naked chef" tv episodes in vhs or dvd (american version) to buy or download? I watched the original naked chef shows back in the late 90's when our town first got food network. I tried to record as much as possible but now cant seem to find a place to buy them. Tried bbc, foodnetwork, amazon...nuffin. Love to play jamie reruns and learn all kinds of techniques and combos. Im wearing out my 10 yr old vhs of 'marathon' Jamie. Already have Olivers twist, Olivers twist 2, Happy Days tour and Jamie's Kitchen (1) on US dvd. Would love more...

M

20. by Sherri on Fri 26 Dec 2008 @ 21:50

The most delicious gravy I have ever made. I knew I was not destined to make lumpy gravy for the rest of my life! I have been a follower of Jamies for a long while and intend to kleep it that way. Cheers!

21. by Barbara on Fri 26 Dec 2008 @ 18:20

Boxing day was saved because of this easy to follow recipe for fabulous gravy - my mum was soooooooooooo impressed (as was I, I surpassed myself).

Thanks Jamie.

22. by cappers on Thu 25 Dec 2008 @ 21:59

Hi there,
Thanks for the gravy recipe made using the vegetable trivet, it was awful. I followed your recipe exactly but the final result was over powerfully satsuma!
Do you have to mess about with everything ? Whats wrong with a traditional Turkey gravy ? I was looking forward to my seasonal Christmas dinner . Cheers!

23. by Nicholas Wood on Thu 25 Dec 2008 @ 05:31

For those of you having trouble printing, click on File at the top left of your screen, this will open to other options. Click on print preview, this should open up a new screen which normally shows 3 pages. Scroll thro the pages until you find the one with the recipe details ,(normally pg 2). Close that window, open file, click on print, a small window should open & in bottom left asks whether you want to print all or a selection of pages. Just put in the page number you want to print, click print & hey presto, your recipe should print. Hope this helps.
I am the sad git sitting at my computer at 05.27 hrs on Xmas day morning unable to find the Goose receipe with 5 spice. Should anyone see this who has receipe & has details be good enough to post details?
Thanx & Seasons Greetings to all.

24. by Dave on Wed 24 Dec 2008 @ 21:12

Why does my mum's gravy taste better than anyone else's in the whole world? I bet Jamie's mum's is better than his. And her mum's etc etc.

25. by Simon Piper on Tue 23 Dec 2008 @ 14:12

Jamie, you are doing a great job, much of which you don't need to but do so with fun and enthusiasm.

Well done mate and Happy Christmas

26. by Annie21 on Sat 20 Dec 2008 @ 16:24

How do I print the recipes? - when I go to print the dialog is not available

27. by Annie21 on Sat 20 Dec 2008 @ 12:48

How do I print the recipes? - when I go to print the dialog is not available

28. by Lyn on Fri 19 Dec 2008 @ 23:51

Hi Jamie,
My name is Lyn from South Australia, I have printed off a couple of you receipts for our Christmas lunch and I'm sure they will be fantastic. Thank you very much for sharing with us all and I wish you and your family a Wonderful Christmas and may all of your dreams come true "that is the good ones" in the New Year 2009.
Thanks once again from down under X

29. by JL on Thu 20 Nov 2008 @ 12:26

This recipe really works. Its the nicest gravy I have ever made. Even my fussy daughter liked it.

30. by Denisejo on Wed 19 Nov 2008 @ 12:08

WOW this Gravy was amazing so was the chicken that went with it. No more gravy granuels for me :)
Thanks Jamie

31. by Tan on Sun 05 Oct 2008 @ 22:37

I used this method last night and it was really delicious. I always have strained the veggies out before adding the flour and thickening it, but this was turned out way better. Thanks!

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