Norfolk Turkey Gravy

Norfolk has been the centre of turkey rearing in Britain for centuries, and the Norfolk Black is still the bird a lot of people hold out for. Turkey gives up plenty of flavour if you use the giblets, which most people bin, and this gravy is built on them. Make the stock days ahead, get the base done in advance, and on Christmas Day all you do is stir in the tin juices.

Ingredients

Makes about 900ml, enough for eight plates with seconds

• 1 set turkey giblets neck, heart and gizzard, keep the liver back
• 1 onion quartered, skin on for colour
• 1 carrot cut into chunks
• 1 stick celery
• 1.5 litres (2½ pints) cold water
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 sage leaves
• 3 tbsp fat from the turkey tin
• 3 tbsp (45g) plain flour
• 100ml (3½fl oz) dry sherry or white wine
• salt and black pepper

Kit

• Roasting tin
• Large saucepan
• Sieve

Method

1. Roast the giblets, onion, carrot and celery in a hot tin at 200C fan for 25 minutes until well browned. Roasting them first rather than just boiling them is the difference between a pale watery stock and something dark and meaty.

2. Tip everything into a saucepan with the cold water, bay and sage. Bring to a bare simmer and skim the scum off the surface for the first 10 minutes.

3. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 1½ hours. Do not let it boil or it goes cloudy and greasy. It should reduce to about a litre. Strain it and chill until you need it. This can be done three days ahead or frozen for a month.

4. On the day, lift the turkey out to rest and pour off the fat from the tin, keeping 3 tablespoons and all the sticky brown juice.

5. Set the tin over a medium heat, stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, whisking it into the residue until you have a smooth dark paste.

6. Pour in the sherry and whisk hard as it bubbles and lifts everything off the base. Let it reduce for 2 minutes.

7. Add the giblet stock a third at a time, whisking each addition smooth. Simmer for 10 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon, then strain into a warm jug, add any juices from the resting bird, and season. Turkey needs more pepper than you think.

Tips worth knowing

• Leave the liver out of the stock. It turns the whole thing bitter and slightly gritty. Fry it separately and chop it into the stuffing instead.
• Resting juices from the bird are the best thing in the gravy and they only appear after 30 minutes of resting. Save room in the jug and add them last.
• If the tin has burnt patches, do not build the gravy in it. Scrape the good residue into a saucepan and leave the black bits behind.
• Make double. Turkey gravy is the thing everyone runs out of, and the leftovers carry the sandwiches for the next two days.

Keeping and reheating

The stock keeps 3 days in the fridge or a month frozen. The finished gravy keeps 3 days in the fridge and freezes for 3 months. Reheat to a proper simmer and whisk, adding stock to loosen.

Questions people ask