Festive, Freeze & Feast: Christmas Gravy

 

Last up in our Festive, Freeze & Feast series is the all important, gravy! This gravy is super easy to make and is absolutely delicious alongside turkey (or any other meat for that matter). I always have a batch in the freezer throughout the year but will remove the star anise when I'm feeling less festive.

 

Ingredients: serves 6-8 people

 1kg chicken wings

2 onions (quartered with the skins still on)

3 carrots (washed and halved)

3 sticks of celery (cut in 1/2)

2 bay leaves

1 star anise

125g lardons

100ml sherry

5 tbsp plain flour

2 litres of water

salt and pepper

1tbsp redcurrant or medlar jelly

 

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200C Fan
• Put the chicken wings, onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves, star anise and lardons into a large roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil  and season with salt and pepper, roast for 30 minutes
• Take the roasting tray out of the oven and put directly onto the hob over a medium flame. If you have an induction hob, transfer the contents of the roasting tray to a large pan
• Sprinkle over the flour and stir, add the sherry and the water. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes adding a little extra water or sherry if you need to.
• Mash the contents of the pan or tray with a potato masher to extract all of the deliciousness from the roasted chicken and veggies. Then strain through a sieve into a pan
• Increase the heat of the pan to a simmer and add the redcurrant jelly. (I used medlar jelly from Tracklements last time instead). Whisk through to dissolve and season to taste
• Allow to cool and pour into freezer bags, label, date and freeze
• Defrost for 24 hours in the fridge before reheating and serving with your roast. I always add the resting juices from the meat to the gravy for a bit of extra flavour!

 

We know cooking Christmas dinner can often feel like a daunting task so we hope this series has helped you feel a little more prepared. Don't forget to share your finished recipes with us @byrubyfoods.

We hope you have a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

The ByRuby Team.