Rib of Beef Red Wine Gravy

A rib of beef is an expensive piece of meat and it deserves a gravy that gets out of its way. This one is barely thickened, built on shallots and a serious reduction of red wine, then finished with cold butter for shine. It is more of a sauce than a gravy and it is the right call for a good joint.

Ingredients

Makes about 450ml, poured rather than ladled

• 2 tbsp beef fat from the tin
• 4 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 sprig thyme
• 350ml (12fl oz) full bodied red wine something you would happily drink
• 600ml (1 pint) strong beef stock ideally homemade
• 1 tsp cornflour slaked in 1 tbsp cold water, only if needed
• 30g very cold butter, diced
• sea salt and black pepper

Kit

• Roasting tin
• Heavy saucepan
• Fine sieve
• Whisk

Method

1. Rest the rib for at least half an hour, ideally forty minutes, loosely tented. A big bone-in joint holds heat for a long time and the resting juices from it are the best thing you will put in this gravy.

2. Skim almost all the fat from the tin, leaving two tablespoons. Set the tin over a medium heat with the shallots and thyme and cook for five minutes until the shallots have softened and taken on the colour of the tin.

3. Pour in the wine and bring it to a hard boil, scraping up everything stuck to the base as it bubbles. Reduce it right down until only about a third remains and it looks syrupy, which takes ten to twelve minutes. Do not cut this short, unreduced wine tastes harsh in a finished gravy.

4. Add the beef stock and let it simmer briskly for another ten to twelve minutes, again reducing by about a third. You want a liquid that already tastes complete before any thickening happens.

5. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan, pressing the shallots hard, then discard the solids. Add the juices from the resting board.

6. Judge the consistency. A good reduction will coat a spoon on its own. Only if it is still thin should you trickle in the slaked cornflour and simmer for two minutes.

7. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the cold butter a few cubes at a time. It should turn glossy and slightly thicker. Never let it boil after this or it will separate into an oily mess.

8. Season with sea salt and a firm grind of black pepper. Serve it hot but not scalding, in a warmed jug, and keep the quantity modest so the beef stays the point.

Tips worth knowing

• Use a wine with body, a Rhone or a Rioja rather than something light and fruity. Reduction concentrates everything, including thinness.
• Roast the rib on the bones or on a bed of chopped beef trimmings and the fond in the tin is worth twice as much.
• Add the butter off the heat with the pan barely warm. This is the step that most often goes wrong and it goes wrong through impatience.
• If it splits, take it off the heat, add a tablespoon of cold stock and whisk hard, and it will usually come back together.

Keeping and reheating

Best made fresh, but it keeps two days in the fridge. Reheat very gently and if it has split, whisk in a spoon of cold stock. Do not freeze once the butter is in, as it separates badly on thawing.

Questions people ask