Many home cooks can turn out a stellar roast, but the art of rich, lump-free gravy eludes them. Here are a few tips to help.
Gravy is basically a roux sauce, also known as a white sauce. You need a fat (meat fat or butter) which you combine with flour or cornflour, cook out for a bit and then add some hot liquid (stock, cream , milk, vegetable water, wine etc) and whisk like crazy to keep it smooth.
1. For a roast gravy, once you have taken your joint aside to allow it to rest, skim off excess fat from the roasting pan, leaving about 2 tablespoons worth in the pan with all the pan scrapings.
2. Mix 2 tablespoons of flour or cornflour with 2 tablespoons of cold water until smooth. Put the roasting dish back on the element, warm it up and then, with a whisk, mix in your starch/water mix, combining all the bits left on the bottom of the pan.
3. Keep whisking and cook over the heat for at least 5 minutes. Reduce the heat if it gets too gluggy - don't let it burn but it may colour a bit. Warm about 4 cups of stock or vegetable water and whisk this into the pan, smoothing the sauce out as it thickens. If it gets too thick add some more of your liquid, if it's too thin let it reduce.
