Blackberry Gravy for Game

Blackberries and game grow up together, since both come good in September, and the acidity of the fruit is exactly what a strong dark meat wants. The trick is to use fewer berries than instinct suggests and to sieve out the pips. This is for pheasant, partridge, venison, wood pigeon or a good beef joint on a cold day.

Ingredients

Makes about 400ml, enough for four plates

• 20g butter plus 15g cold butter to finish
• 1 shallot finely chopped
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 150g (5oz) blackberries fresh or frozen, about a mugful
• 150ml (5fl oz) red wine
• 450ml (16fl oz) hot game or beef stock
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp caster sugar only if the berries are very sharp
• salt and black pepper to taste

Kit

• Heavy saucepan
• Wooden spoon
• Fine sieve
• Ladle

Method

1. Melt the 20g of butter in a heavy pan and cook the shallot over a medium heat for four minutes with the thyme sprig, until soft and glossy but not coloured.

2. Add about two thirds of the blackberries and press them against the base of the pan with a wooden spoon until they burst and release their juice. The pan will go a deep purple almost immediately.

3. Pour in the red wine, turn the heat up, and boil for four or five minutes until it has reduced by about two thirds and no longer smells of raw alcohol.

4. Add the stock, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for fifteen minutes. The gravy should reduce by about a quarter and darken from purple towards a deep brownish red.

5. Push the whole lot through a fine sieve into a clean pan, working it hard with the back of a ladle. Blackberry pips are small and unpleasant in a sauce, so keep pressing until only dry pulp is left.

6. Bring the strained gravy back to a simmer, add the remaining whole blackberries and cook for two minutes only, so they soften but keep their shape.

7. Add the vinegar, then taste. Blackberries vary hugely. If yours were hedgerow sharp it may want the teaspoon of sugar, and if they were shop bought and sweet it will not.

8. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the cold butter until the gravy turns glossy. Season with salt and plenty of pepper and serve while it is shining.

Tips worth knowing

• One hundred and fifty grams in 600ml of liquid is the ceiling. Double it and you have a fruit coulis with stock in it, which will fight the meat rather than support it.
• Sieve it. Blackberry pips get into everything and one seed between the teeth ruins a mouthful of pheasant.
• Frozen blackberries work perfectly and often burst more readily than fresh. Use them straight from the freezer, no need to defrost.
• For a version without alcohol, use 150ml of unsweetened apple or red grape juice plus an extra teaspoon of vinegar in place of the wine.

Keeping and reheating

Keeps three days in the fridge and freezes for three months if you freeze it before the final butter goes in. Reheat gently, add the cold butter fresh, and check the vinegar and salt again once it is hot.

Questions people ask