RealGravy

Onion Gravies

Sticky Onion and Honey Gravy

Onions taken dark, honey added late so it does not scorch, and the gravy reduced until it clings to a spoon rather than pouring off it.

  • Contains meat
  • Dairy free
  • honey
  • sticky
  • toad in the hole
  • pork belly
  • glaze
Illustration of Sticky Onion and Honey Gravy
Prep
10 min
Cook
45 min
Total
55 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Medium

This one is thick enough to sit on the food rather than run off it, which makes it the right choice for toad in the hole and roast pork belly where a thin gravy just disappears into the batter or the crackling. The honey goes in near the end on purpose. Add it early and it burns, add it late and it turns glossy and sticky.

Ingredients

Makes about 350ml, enough for four plates as a thick gravy

Scale

Kit

  • Wide frying pan
  • Wooden spoon

Method

  1. Melt the fat in a wide frying pan over a medium heat and add the onions with a pinch of salt. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until they are properly dark and reduced right down. Goose fat or dripping gives a rounder result here than oil, and it matters in a gravy this concentrated.

  2. Turn the heat up slightly and drizzle in the honey. Stir constantly for 2 minutes. It will foam, then go dark and coat the onions in a lacquer. Keep it moving, because honey burns far faster than sugar does.

  3. Splash in the sherry vinegar. It will hiss hard and smell sharp. Stir for 30 seconds while it evaporates and the pan comes clean.

  4. Add the soy sauce and the hot stock, scrape the base, and bring to a brisk simmer.

  5. Reduce uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the volume has come down by a third and the gravy has gone thick, dark and shiny. Drag a spoon through it and the trail should hold for a second before closing.

  6. If it is still not clinging the way you want, stir in the cornflour paste and give it 2 more minutes. Grind in black pepper and taste before adding any salt, because the soy sauce has brought a lot already.

Tips worth knowing

  • Honey burns at a lower temperature than sugar, so it goes in near the end and it needs constant stirring for those two minutes.
  • Sherry vinegar is worth using over malt or white wine vinegar here because it has a nutty roundness that suits the honey.
  • A dark honey such as chestnut or heather gives a much more interesting result than a mild blossom honey.
  • If you are serving this with toad in the hole, make it while the batter is in the oven and it will be ready at exactly the right moment.

Change it up

  • Add half a teaspoon of chilli flakes with the honey for a sweet heat that suits pork belly and crackling.
  • Use maple syrup instead of honey and add a sprig of thyme, then serve it with roast parsnips and a nut roast, using vegetable stock and oil.

Keeping and reheating

Fridge for 5 days. It sets almost to a jam when cold, which is a good sign. Reheat with a splash of stock or water over a low heat, stirring until it loosens. Freezes for 3 months.

Questions people ask

When should I add honey to gravy?

Near the end, after the onions are already browned, and with the pan stirred constantly. Honey scorches at a lower temperature than sugar and goes acrid quickly. Two minutes on a medium heat is enough to turn it glossy without burning it.

How do I make gravy thick enough to stick to food?

Reduce it further than you think. This recipe boils away about a third of its liquid, which concentrates both flavour and body. If that is not enough, a teaspoon of cornflour slaked in cold water will take it the rest of the way without dulling the taste.

Is honey gravy too sweet?

Not if it is balanced. The sherry vinegar and soy sauce here are doing exactly that job, pulling the sweetness back with acid and salt. If yours tastes too sweet, another splash of vinegar will fix it faster than anything else.