Juniper and Gin Gravy

Juniper is what makes gin taste of gin, and it has been going into game dishes across northern Europe for centuries. It is resinous and slightly bitter, and a small amount cuts through rich dark meat in a way that herbs cannot. Eight berries and 50ml of gin is enough. Serve with venison, wild boar, pork belly or a slow cooked shoulder.

Ingredients

Makes about 400ml, enough for four plates

• 8 juniper berries crushed, roughly 2g
• 20g butter plus 15g cold butter to finish
• 1 shallot finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 50ml (2fl oz) gin a plain juniper forward London dry, nothing floral
• 500ml (18fl oz) hot beef or venison stock
• 1 tsp redcurrant jelly
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp cold water
• salt and black pepper to taste

Kit

• Pestle and mortar
• Heavy saucepan
• Fine sieve
• Balloon whisk

Method

1. Crush the juniper berries in a pestle and mortar until they split open and you can smell them clearly. Do not grind them to a powder, you want them crushed so they can be sieved out later.

2. Melt the 20g of butter in a heavy pan over a medium heat. Add the shallot and cook for four minutes until soft, then add the crushed juniper and the bay leaf and cook for one minute more.

3. Pour in the gin and stand back for a second, it will steam hard. Let it bubble for two minutes until the pan is nearly dry and the raw spirit smell has gone.

4. Add the hot stock and bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered for twelve minutes, so the juniper flavour spreads out and the liquid reduces by around a fifth.

5. Stir in the redcurrant jelly until it melts. Juniper is bitter and resinous and a small amount of sweetness gives it something to lean against.

6. Mix the cornflour with the cold water and whisk it in, then simmer for a minute until the gravy just coats a spoon. Keep this one on the thin side, it is a sauce rather than a Sunday gravy.

7. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean pan, pressing the solids to get everything out, and discard the juniper and bay.

8. Off the heat, whisk in the cold butter until the gravy turns glossy. Season with salt and plenty of black pepper and taste. It should be piney and savoury with a faint bitterness at the back.

Tips worth knowing

• Eight berries in 500ml is the right dose. Twelve tips it over into tasting medicinal, like a mouthful of neat gin, and the bitterness gets hard to eat.
• Crush the berries rather than grinding them. Powdered juniper goes straight through a sieve and gives a gritty texture and a much harsher flavour.
• Use a plain London dry gin. A modern gin heavy on rhubarb, elderflower or citrus will pull the gravy in a strange direction.
• For a version without alcohol, leave out the gin, use ten crushed juniper berries instead of eight and add a tablespoon of white wine vinegar with the stock.

Keeping and reheating

Keeps three days in the fridge and freezes for three months if you leave out the final butter, which you can whisk in fresh on reheating. Warm it gently, boiling it after the butter is in will split it.

Questions people ask