Port and Redcurrant Gravy
A dark, sweet edged gravy for lamb, venison and Christmas beef, using a small amount of port added late so its fruit does not cook away.
- Contains meat
- port
- lamb
- venison
- festive
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
Port is fortified, which means more alcohol and far more sugar than table wine, so it goes in smaller amounts and later in the process. Treat it like red wine and you will end up with something sticky and cloying. Treat it as a finishing flavour and it gives a gravy real depth.
Ingredients
Makes about 500ml, enough for six plates
Scaled amounts are rounded to something you can actually measure. Season at the end and trust your mouth over the maths.
Kit
- Heavy saucepan
- Whisk
- Sieve
Method
Melt the butter in a saucepan and soften the shallots over a medium heat for five minutes until translucent and sweet.
Stir in the flour and cook it for two minutes until it turns a pale biscuit colour. Do not let it darken, the port will supply plenty of colour later.
Whisk in the hot stock a ladle at a time, keeping it smooth. Add the rosemary, bring to a simmer and cook for ten minutes to build the base and lose any floury taste.
Meanwhile, pour the port into a small pan and boil it hard for four to five minutes until it has reduced to about 60ml and looks syrupy. Reducing it separately means you control exactly how concentrated it gets without overcooking the rest of the gravy.
Tip the reduced port into the gravy along with the redcurrant jelly and stir until the jelly has melted completely.
Simmer together for a further five minutes so the flavours settle, then remove the rosemary.
Add the vinegar, taste, and season. The vinegar stops the port and jelly tipping the whole thing into sweetness. Strain into a warm jug and serve.
Tips worth knowing
- Use ruby port, not tawny or vintage. Ruby is fruity and cheap and exactly right. Tawny is nutty and better in the glass than in a gravy.
- Fortified wines are around 20 per cent alcohol and heavy with sugar, so 150ml is plenty for six people. Doubling it will make a sauce, not a gravy.
- For a non-alcoholic version, reduce 200ml of pomegranate juice or dark grape juice with 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar down to 60ml and use that in place of the reduced port. You want the same sweet, tannic, slightly sharp result.
- If the gravy tastes flat rather than sweet, it usually needs salt and acid rather than more jelly.
Change it up
- Swap the redcurrant jelly for damson or blackcurrant jam and use it with venison or duck.
- Add 50g of blue cheese at the end, off the heat, for a Stilton and port gravy for steak.
- Use half port and half red wine, reducing them together, for a slightly drier version to go with roast beef.
Keeping and reheating
Keeps five days in the fridge thanks to the sugar and alcohol, and freezes for three months. Reheat gently and check the seasoning again, since sweetness can flatten as it cools.
Questions people ask
Can I use port instead of red wine in gravy?
Yes, but use around half the volume and add it late. Port is fortified and sweet, so a straight swap for a full glass of red wine makes the gravy syrupy. Reduce it separately and stir it in near the end.
What meat goes with port gravy?
Lamb, venison, duck, goose and rib of beef. It suits rich and slightly gamey meat where the sweetness has something to balance. It is too heavy for chicken or pork loin.
Is there an alternative to redcurrant jelly?
Crab apple jelly, damson jam or a heaped teaspoon of cranberry sauce all do the same job. You are after a fruity sweetness with a bit of acidity, so plain sugar is a poorer substitute.