Bramley Apple Gravy

Pork and apple sauce, pork and gravy, and this is both at once. Bramleys fall apart into a fluff when they cook, which thickens the gravy on its own and means you can use less flour. The sharpness is the point, so do not swap in an eating apple and expect the same thing. Serve with roast pork, belly, chops or a pork and sage sausage.

Ingredients

Makes about 550ml, enough for six plates

• 2 tbsp pork fat from the roasting tin or 25g butter, or oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 large (about 250g) Bramley apple peeled, cored and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 200ml (7fl oz) dry cider
• 450ml (16fl oz) hot chicken or pork stock
• 6 sage leaves
• 1 tsp cider vinegar only if the apples are on the sweet side
• salt and black pepper to taste

Kit

• Saucepan
• Wooden spoon
• Stick blender
• Sieve

Method

1. Heat the pork fat in a saucepan over a medium heat and add the onion. Cook for eight minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly golden at the edges.

2. Add the chopped apple and the sage leaves and carry on cooking for five minutes. The apple will start to lose its edges and go translucent.

3. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute, coating the onion and apple. There is less flour here than in a standard gravy because the apple is going to do half the thickening.

4. Pour in the cider and turn the heat up. Let it bubble for three minutes to boil off the raw alcohol, scraping the base of the pan as you go.

5. Add the hot stock, bring to a simmer, and cook uncovered for ten to twelve minutes until the apple has completely collapsed. Press a piece against the side of the pan, it should squash with no resistance at all.

6. Fish out the sage leaves. Blend the gravy smooth with a stick blender, keeping the head under the surface so it does not spit, then push it through a sieve if you want it silky.

7. Season with salt and pepper and taste. Bramleys vary a lot. If it is sharp enough it needs nothing, if it tastes flat add the teaspoon of cider vinegar. If it is too thick, loosen with stock a splash at a time.

Tips worth knowing

• Bramley or another proper cooking apple is what you want. A Braeburn or a Gala holds its shape, stays sweet and gives you chunks in a sweet gravy, which is not the same dish.
• If the finished gravy tastes like apple sauce rather than gravy, it needs more salt and more stock, in that order. Sweetness reads as too much when the salt is too low.
• Keep a couple of tablespoons of the apple back before blending and stir them in at the end if you like a bit of texture.
• For a no alcohol version, use 200ml of apple juice plus a tablespoon of cider vinegar in place of the cider.

Keeping and reheating

Keeps four days in the fridge and freezes for three months, and it freezes better than most gravies because there is little fat to split. Reheat gently and whisk, it thickens considerably when cold.

Questions people ask