The Perfectionment of Gravy

Every woman* has their own gravy recipe and every recipe is perfected over the years and generations. My Mum's gravy is fabulous, she NEVER EVER gets it wrong and whenever I compliment her she always says practice makes perfect.

My gravy making skills are being perfected over time, and as always Mum is right the more I make it the better I get at it. Also, after a sneaky little question to my Mum about a year ago, I've had perfect gravy every time!

So I will share with you now my tips to get that perfect, thick gravy.

Ingredients

3 heaped tsp Bisto Original Powder & 2 tblsps of Yorkshire Pudding Mix
OR
3 heaped tsp Bisto Original Powder & 1 heaped tblsps of Plain/Corn Flour
OR
4 heaped tsp Bisto Original Powder
1 Beef Oxo Cube
1 glass (about 250ml) cold water
The fat from the meat you've cooked OR 3 tblsp of fat from a jar/dripping OR 2 tblsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Method

The gravy should always be made at the last minute as it should always be served piping hot.

This is also a great way of reheating any of the food that may have cooled down by the time you get to the table.

However, before preparing the rest of the meal you can get a head start by mixing the Bisto, Yorkshire Pudding Mix/Plain/Corn Flour with the cold water and leave to one side. Crumble and mix the Oxo cube into a pint of boiling water. Leave to one side.

When you're ready to make the gravy

1. Heat the fat/oil in a large saucepan til piping hot.
2. Pour in the Oxo water, Bisto mix and salt & pepper.
3. Stir constantly and bring to the boil.

TIP

If the gravy isn't thick enough add more Bisto or Flour but YOU MUST mix in a little cold water before adding to the pan otherwise it'll turn straight into lumps and won't thicken the gravy at all.

4. Serve piping hot!

Extra little tips for the best gravy -

The better quality meat you use the tastier the fat will be and therefore make a better gravy. If you are using a dry meat like chicken or turkey add some goose fat or dripping or olive oil, if that's all you have to hand, to enhance the flavour.

I strongly recommend using Bisto powder and not granules. The granules tend to leave a bitter aftertaste and are very difficult to make a smooth creamy like gravy.

Use beef or veal stock cubes rather than chicken or vegetable, again this enhances the flavour of the gravy.

Why Oxo and Bisto? Well it's just traditional!

* I say woman because Sunday Dinners and Gravy are very much a woman's domain. It's been a tradition in Britain for centuries to pass down the recipe from mother to daughter. To be perfectly honest, making a Sunday Dinner requires a huge amount of multi-tasking to get everything cooked to perfection at the same time and still hot when everyone gets to the table. My Dad tried it once and he had to admit it was a nightmarish task best left to the capable juggling hands of a woman!