Sussex Roast Beef Gravy

Sussex has good beef, good ale and a long history of mushroom ketchup, which was in every kitchen before bottled brown sauce took over. Put the three together in a roasting tin and you get a gravy with a lot more depth than stock and flour alone. It is strained clear and glossy, so it suits a proper laid table, and it keeps well enough to make the day before.

Ingredients

Makes about 600ml, enough for six plates

• 3 tbsp fat from the beef roasting tin
• 1 onion sliced, roasted under the joint
• 2 tbsp (30g) plain flour
• 200ml (7fl oz) brown ale a Sussex bitter or best if you can get one
• 600ml (1 pint) beef stock hot
• 1 tbsp mushroom ketchup
• 1 tsp English mustard
• 1 tsp redcurrant jelly
• salt and black pepper

Kit

• Roasting tin
• Whisk
• Fine sieve

Method

1. Take the beef out to rest on a board. Tip the fat out of the tin into a jug, then spoon 3 tablespoons back in with all the onion and the sticky brown residue.

2. Put the tin across two hob rings on a medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, whisking constantly. Take it a shade darker than you would for a chicken gravy, to a proper hazelnut brown. That colour is flavour and it is what makes a beef gravy taste of beef.

3. Pour in the ale. It will foam and go stiff for a moment. Keep whisking and scraping and it loosens within 30 seconds.

4. Let the ale bubble for 3 to 4 minutes to cook off the raw hoppy edge, which otherwise turns bitter as the gravy reduces.

5. Add the stock a third at a time, whisking each addition smooth, then bring to a simmer.

6. Simmer for 10 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon and holds a clean line when you drag a finger through it.

7. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean pan, pressing the onion through. Whisk in the mushroom ketchup, mustard and redcurrant jelly, add every drop of the juice that has run out of the resting beef, and season. Serve hot, in a warmed jug.

Tips worth knowing

• Rest the beef for at least 20 minutes on a board with a lip. The juices that collect are the best thing you will add to the gravy, and a flat board sends them onto the worktop.
• Mushroom ketchup is worth tracking down. It is thin, dark and intensely savoury, and it does something Worcestershire sauce does not. A splash of soy plus a soaked dried mushroom is the nearest substitute.
• Choose a bitter or best bitter rather than an IPA. Heavily hopped beer concentrates into bitterness as the gravy reduces.
• If it tastes slightly harsh at the end, another half teaspoon of redcurrant jelly and a knob of cold butter whisked in will round it off without making it sweet.

Keeping and reheating

Keeps 4 days in the fridge and freezes for 3 months. Reheat to a proper simmer and whisk hard, adding stock if it has set too firm. Add fresh resting juices on the day if you have them.

Questions people ask