Game Bird Carcass Gravy

Game bird bones are thin, dry and full of flavour, but they do not behave like chicken. Simmer them too long and the stock goes bitter and tannic, so this is a fast stock made hot and finished early. A few juniper berries and a spoon of redcurrant do the rest.

Ingredients

Makes about 350ml

• 3 game bird carcasses pheasant, partridge, grouse or a mix
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 carrot
• 1 stick celery
• 6 juniper berries lightly crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1.5 litres (2.5 pints) cold water
• 100ml (3.5fl oz) port
• 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
• 20g (0.75oz) plain flour
• 20g (0.75oz) butter for the roux
• salt and black pepper

Kit

• Roasting tin
• Saucepan
• Fine sieve
• Whisk

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220C fan (240C conventional, gas 9). Chop the carcasses into small pieces, dot with the tablespoon of butter and roast for 25 minutes until brown. Game birds have almost no fat, so the butter stops them drying to a crisp before they colour.

2. Add the onion, carrot and celery and roast for a further 12 minutes.

3. Tip into a saucepan. Deglaze the tin with the port over a burner, bubbling it down by half and scraping the base, then add it to the pan.

4. Pour in 1.5 litres of cold water, bring to a simmer and skim well. Add the juniper and bay.

5. Simmer gently for only 1.5 hours. This is the key difference from a chicken stock. Game bones are thin and the marrow is strongly flavoured, so a long cook turns the stock bitter and drying rather than richer.

6. Strain and reduce the resulting litre or so down to 400ml over about 15 minutes, until it smells sharply of game.

7. Make a light roux with the 20g of butter and the flour, cooking it for 2 minutes, then whisk in the hot stock in stages and simmer for 5 minutes.

8. Stir in the redcurrant jelly until it dissolves, then season generously. Game gravy takes more salt and pepper than you expect because the flavour is so assertive.

Tips worth knowing

• Stop at 90 minutes. Every extra hour on game bones costs you flavour rather than adding it.
• If your birds were well hung, the stock will be strong. Taste at the reduction stage and stop early if it is already intense.
• Save any pan juices and browned bits from roasting the birds themselves. Whisked in at the end they add a fresher layer over the stock.
• A splash of the cooking liquor from braised red cabbage is a very good addition if you happen to have some on.

Keeping and reheating

Stock keeps three days chilled or three months frozen. Finished gravy keeps two days. Reheat gently and loosen with water.

Questions people ask