Madeira Gravy
A glossy, savoury gravy built on Madeira, which brings a burnt caramel and dried fruit note nothing else quite matches. Very good with beef fillet and mushrooms.
- Contains meat
- Madeira
- beef
- mushroom
- steak
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
Madeira is a fortified wine that has been deliberately heated during ageing, which gives it a nutty, slightly burnt sugar character. In a gravy it tastes richer and less sweet than port. Use a Sercial or Verdelho if you can, and keep the quantity modest, because it is strong stuff.
Ingredients
Makes about 400ml, enough for four plates
Scaled amounts are rounded to something you can actually measure. Season at the end and trust your mouth over the maths.
Kit
- Heavy frying pan
- Whisk
- Small saucepan
Method
Melt the butter in a heavy frying pan over a medium high heat and fry the mushrooms for six or seven minutes until they have given up their water and started to brown properly. That browning is where the savoury depth comes from.
Add the shallot and cook for another three minutes until soft, then stir in the tomato puree and let it fry for a minute to lose its raw edge.
Pour in the Madeira and let it bubble hard for four to five minutes, scraping the base, until it has reduced to about a third and smells of caramel and dried fruit rather than spirit. Fortified wine is strong, so this step matters more than it does with table wine.
Add the hot stock, bring to a simmer and cook for ten minutes uncovered so the stock reduces a little and takes on the Madeira.
Stir the slaked cornflour, pour it into the simmering gravy while whisking, and cook for one minute until it thickens and turns glossy. Cornflour keeps this gravy clear and shiny in a way a flour roux would not.
Take it off the heat, whisk in the cold butter and season. Serve immediately over steak or a fillet of beef, with the mushrooms left in.
Tips worth knowing
- Buy drinking Madeira rather than the salted cooking version sold near the vinegar. The cooking stuff is heavily salted and will wreck your seasoning.
- 125ml is enough for four. Fortified wines run around 19 to 20 per cent alcohol and any more will taste spirity even after reduction.
- For a non-alcoholic version, reduce 150ml of white grape juice with 1 tbsp of sherry vinegar and 1 tsp of dark brown sugar down to about 50ml. The sugar caramelises slightly, which is the closest you will get to Madeira's cooked character.
- An open bottle of Madeira keeps for months in a cool cupboard, which is more than can be said for table wine.
Change it up
- Strain out the mushrooms and shallot for a clear sauce madere to serve with beef Wellington.
- Add a tablespoon of double cream at the end for a softer, creamier version alongside chicken or veal.
- Swap half the beef stock for chicken stock and serve it with roast guinea fowl.
Keeping and reheating
Four days in the fridge. Freezes reasonably at three months, though cornflour thickened gravies can go slightly watery on thawing. Whisk hard as you reheat and it comes back together.
Questions people ask
What can I use instead of Madeira in gravy?
Dry sherry is the closest, then Marsala, then a mixture of red wine and a teaspoon of brandy. None of them have that cooked, slightly caramelised note Madeira gets from heat ageing, so add a pinch of dark brown sugar to bridge the gap.
Is Madeira gravy gluten free?
As written, yes. It is thickened with cornflour rather than flour, so the only thing to check is that your beef stock is gluten free, since many stock cubes contain wheat.
Why add cornflour instead of a flour roux?
Cornflour gives a clear, glossy finish that suits a fortified wine sauce, and it thickens without adding any flavour of its own. A roux would dull the Madeira and make the sauce opaque.