The encyclopaedia of gravy
A make-ahead plan for Christmas gravy: a giblet base days in advance, a quick finish in the tin, and a strategy for keeping it hot while everything else comes together.
Christmas gravy fails for logistical reasons, not culinary ones. The oven is full, the hob is full, there are eleven other things to plate, and the gravy is the last thing made and the first thing noticed. The answer is to move nearly all of the work to a quiet day beforehand.
The plan¶
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Up to 3 months ahead | Make the giblet stock base and freeze it |
| 2–3 days ahead | Or make it fresh and keep it chilled |
| Christmas morning | Defrost/warm the base; measure out the flour |
| Turkey comes out | Finish the gravy in the tin — 10 minutes |
| While carving | Into a warmed flask or bain-marie |
Stage one: the base (make ahead)¶
Makes about 1.2 litres
- Turkey giblets, neck and wing tips (buy extra wings if your bird came without)
- 1 tbsp oil · 2 onions, halved · 1 carrot · 1 celery stick
- 2 bay leaves · 6 peppercorns · a few parsley stalks
- 2 litres water · 200 ml white wine
- Brown the giblets, neck and wings hard in the oil in a large pan — 10 minutes, until properly dark. Pale giblets make a pale stock.
- Add the wine and scrape the base of the pan.
- Add the vegetables, herbs and water. Bring to a bare simmer.
- Simmer gently, uncovered, for 2 hours, skimming the surface occasionally.
- Strain, cool quickly, and chill or freeze. When cold it should be lightly jellied — that is the gelatin from bones that gives Christmas gravy its body.
💡 Chef's tip
Roast a handful of extra chicken wings alongside and add them to the pot. The bird supplies less giblet than the quantity of gravy needs.
Stage two: the finish (on the day)¶
- 3–4 tbsp fat from the turkey tin · 4 tbsp plain flour
- 200 ml Madeira, sherry or white wine
- 1.2 litres warm giblet base · the turkey resting juices
- 1 tsp redcurrant jelly · salt and pepper
- Lift the turkey out to rest — it needs 30–45 minutes, which is your entire window.
- Pour the tin contents into a jug, skim the fat, return 3–4 tbsp of fat and all the dark juices to the tin.
- Set the tin over two hob rings on medium-low. Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes.
- Deglaze with the Madeira, scraping hard.
- Whisk in the warm base gradually. Simmer 10 minutes.
- Add the resting juices, the redcurrant jelly, and season. Strain into warmed jugs.
Keeping it hot¶
The most common Christmas failure is gravy that is lukewarm by the time it reaches the table. Options, best first:
- A vacuum flask. Warm it with boiling water first. Gravy keeps at serving temperature for hours and pours straight into the jug at the table.
- A bain-marie — the pan sitting in a larger pan of simmering water, lid on.
- The slow cooker on low, if it is not already full of something else.
- A warmed jug and a reheat just before serving. Least reliable, most common.
See keeping gravy warm for more.
Quantities¶
Make 150 ml per person as a minimum, and more if your family is the sort that fills the Yorkshire pudding. For ten people that is 1.5 litres, which sounds absurd until Boxing Day.
Leftover gravy freezes perfectly and is the making of a turkey pie, bubble and squeak, or a hot turkey sandwich.
See also¶
- turkey gravy · giblet gravy · giblets · keeping gravy warm
- gravy bones — what the dog can and cannot have
- large-batch gravy · make-ahead gravy