Real Ale Gravy

A good English bitter has caramel malt and a bitter hop finish, and both of those need handling before they go anywhere near a plate. Reduce the ale hard and the malt sweetness comes forward, the hop bitterness settles down. This is the gravy for a steak and ale pie, or for pork chops on a cold night.

Ingredients

Makes about 550ml, enough for six plates

• 30g (1oz) beef dripping or butter
• 1 large onion, finely sliced
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 2 tbsp (30g) plain flour
• 400ml (14fl oz) English bitter or best bitter roughly one bottle, something malty rather than very hoppy
• 500ml (18fl oz) hot beef stock
• 2 tsp orange marmalade or 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp English mustard
• 2 sprigs thyme
• salt and black pepper

Kit

• Heavy saucepan
• Whisk
• Wooden spoon

Method

1. Melt the dripping in a heavy pan and cook the onion and carrot over a medium heat for ten to twelve minutes until soft and the edges of the onion are browning. The carrot adds a background sweetness that stands up to the hops.

2. Stir in the flour and cook for two minutes, scraping the base as the mixture tightens.

3. Pour in the ale in three goes, whisking each one smooth. It will foam, so give it a moment between additions.

4. Add the thyme and boil the ale for ten minutes until it has reduced by about half. Taste it at this point. It should be malty and rounded. If it is still sharply bitter, give it another two or three minutes.

5. Whisk in the hot stock and bring back to a simmer. Cook uncovered for twelve minutes until it thickens to a proper pouring gravy.

6. Stir in the marmalade and the mustard. The marmalade is doing a job here, its sugar cancels out the hop bitterness and the peel gives a faint edge that suits beef.

7. Pull out the thyme sprigs, season and either serve as is or strain it if you want a smooth gravy.

Tips worth knowing

• Choose a malty bitter rather than a modern IPA. Hop bitterness concentrates as the beer reduces, and a very hoppy beer will end up harsh and grapefruity.
• Flat ale from a bottle left open yesterday is perfect for this. The carbonation does nothing for the gravy anyway.
• For a non-alcoholic version, use 400ml of alcohol free bitter, or 300ml of malty non alcoholic beer plus 100ml of beef stock. If you have neither, use 400ml of stock with 1 tsp of Marmite and 1 tsp of black treacle to rebuild the malt note.
• If you want it smooth, blitz the onion and carrot into it with a stick blender rather than straining. You lose nothing and it thickens the gravy for free.

Keeping and reheating

Four days in the fridge, three months frozen. Reheat over a low heat with a splash of water. It is one of the few gravies that genuinely tastes better on day two.

Questions people ask