Lamb Bone Gravy

Lamb makes the most distinctive stock of the lot, which is a blessing and a curse. It needs a firm hand with the fat and something sharp or sweet to balance it, or it can turn cloying. Get that right and lamb bone gravy is the best thing to pour over a shoulder that has been in the oven half the day.

Ingredients

Makes about 550ml, enough for six with seconds

• 1.5kg (3lb 5oz) lamb bones leg, shoulder or neck bones, sawn or chopped
• 2 onions skin on, halved
• 1 large carrot
• 1 stick celery
• 6 cloves garlic bashed, skin on
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 litres (5.25 pints) cold water
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp lamb fat from the stock
• 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• salt and black pepper

Kit

• Roasting tin
• Large saucepan
• Fine sieve
• Fat separator or a jug

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220C fan (240C conventional, gas 9). Roast the lamb bones in a dry tin for 45 minutes, turning once, until dark brown and the tin is coated in sticky brown residue. Lamb bones carry a lot of their own fat so you do not need oil.

2. Tip the rendered fat out into a bowl and keep it, that is your roux fat. Add the onions, carrot, celery and garlic to the tin and roast for a further 20 minutes.

3. Move everything to a saucepan, deglaze the tin with a splash of water and scrape it clean, then cover with 3 litres of cold water.

4. Bring slowly to a simmer, skimming steadily. Lamb throws up more scum than most so be patient and keep lifting it off. Once it runs clear, add the rosemary and bay and hold at a bare tremble for 4 hours.

5. Strain, then chill for at least three hours or overnight. Lamb fat sets hard and white and lifts off in one piece, which is the easiest defatting job in cooking. Take it all off, because leftover lamb fat coats the mouth and dulls everything.

6. Reduce 1.2 litres of the defatted stock in a wide pan to about 700ml over 20 minutes, which sharpens the flavour considerably.

7. In another pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved lamb fat, stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes to a light brown roux. Whisk in the hot stock gradually and simmer for 5 minutes.

8. Stir in the redcurrant jelly until it melts, add the vinegar, then taste. It should be savoury first with the sweetness only showing up at the back. Season and serve very hot, because lamb gravy congeals faster than most.

Tips worth knowing

• Defatting lamb stock is not optional. Warm lamb fat is pleasant, cold lamb fat on a plate is not, and there is always more of it than you expect.
• Neck bones give the best lamb stock. They are cheap, full of connective tissue and the meat left on them adds real flavour.
• Warm the gravy boat with boiling water before you pour. Lamb gravy sets a skin faster than beef or chicken.
• If the rosemary starts to dominate, pull it out after two hours. It keeps giving long after other herbs have finished.

Keeping and reheating

Fridge for four days, freezer for four months. Reheat in a pan and whisk well, adding a little water, as it thickens noticeably on standing.

Questions people ask