Different gravy! Cork's top chefs give their finest recipes for Christmas dinner
There are gravy recipes here to suit all Christmas dishes, including a fish sauce and a vegan option
By Alexandre Petit, Group Executive Chef at Trigon Hotels
Gravy gets extra special attention from me, as it’s one of my family’s favourite parts of the dinner.
It is usually the first thing I tackle - getting it done two days prior to the big day and making enough to last from Christmas Eve to St Stephen’s Day. It might look a lot to take on, but trust me, it will be worth the effort!
Ingredients 2kg chicken bones (free from any good butcher, pre-order if need be) 2 white onions, sliced 3 carrots, peeled and chopped 3 stalks celery, washed and chopped ¼ leek white only, chopped 100g celeriac, peeled & chopped 30g tomato paste 250ml red wine 1 bay leaf 5g thyme 1 pinch black peppercorn 5 litres water 1 shallot, peeled & sliced 1 clove garlic, chopped 50ml port Method 1. Pre-heat oven to 220C and roast chicken bones till dark brown.
2. Heat up a large 10 litre saucepan with vegetable oil and, taking one diced vegetable at a time (except the shallots and garlic), caramelise heavily. Add more oil in between, if needed.
3. Place caramelised vegetables in a strainer with a bowl underneath to release the oil, then put them all back to the pot and add tomato paste. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes while constantly stirring.
4. Next add red wine, peppercorns and herbs, cooking for 5 minutes over medium heat or until you can smell the alcohol from the wine is gone. Add chicken bones and water to pot and bring to a simmer.
5. Drop heat as low as you can while still being able to observe a gentle movement in the pot. Cook for 3 hours (minimum) while skimming any fat or foam that rises to the top.
6. Strain the stock over a bowl to remove the bones and vegetables.
7. Wash the large saucepan, return to the heat with little oil, add the shallots and garlic and caramelise slightly.
8. Deglaze with port and simmer till you can smell the alcohol is gone. Add your chicken stock and reduce by two-thirds over medium heat, or until you end up with 1.5 litre of sauce.
9. At this stage the choice is yours, either keep reducing this stock fully to a rich consistency without adding anything, this might take an extra 2 hours on medium heat, or add some powdered gravy to thicken it up, which will provide more gravy for the few days ahead.
Our classic Red Wine Gravy is quick and easy to make with a richness to complement our roast duck, or a festive goose. This can be made while your roast is cooking.
Ingredients Heart, liver, neck and gizzard from the carcass of a Skeaghanore West Cork Farm duck 1 onion, halved and sliced 1 carrot, chopped 1 bay leaf Black pepper 1 ½ pints water 375ml red wine 1½ tbsp cornflour Knob of butter Pinch of salt Method 1. Start by making the stock. Wash all the giblets and place them into a large saucepan. Add vegetables, bay leaf, a pinch of salt and water. Bring to boil and simmer for 1 hour.
2. Add black pepper to your preferred taste. Strain and reserve your stock.
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3. Do your best to remove most of the fat from the roasting tin the duck has been cooking in. Add the fat to a saucepan over medium heat on the hob. Add butter, sieve in the flour and mix well with a whisk.
4. Bring up to a simmer, add in all the wine and the stock made earlier.
5. Simmer and reduce till it reaches your preferred consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Best Gravy for a Vegan RoastMark Ahern, Head Chef at Good Day Deli
Vegan cookery is much more sophisticated than simply taking meat, fish and dairy on the plate. This Vegan Port Gravy is a sure-fire way to show you really care.
Ingredients 2 white onions, sliced 6 carrots, sliced 1 stick celery, sliced 1 leek, sliced 1 bulb garlic 200g mushrooms (shiitake preferably), sliced 250g dried mushrooms 2 bay leaf 1 bunch thyme 1 bunch rosemary 1 tsp tomato puree 2 litres veg stock 2 star anise 10 black peppercorns 500ml port 250ml red wine 2 tsp vegemite 2 tsp balsamic reduction 2 tbsp soy sauce.
Method 1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
2. Roast all vegetables, including fresh mushrooms, on a baking tray, season with salt and pepper, a drizzle of oil, soy and tomato puree and bake in oven until completely browned. Stir, add a little water to tray and scrape all caramelized bits from bottom (very important!).
3. Add the roasted vegetable to a stock pot with veg stock and dried mushrooms and bring to boil. Add herbs, star anise and peppercorns. Cook until reduced to ¼ of its original volume.
4. In a separate pot, cook the wine and port until reduced by half. Leave to cool.
5. Into a blender, add the wine and port reduction and reduced veg stock. Blend until smooth, then pass through a fine mesh sieve.
6. Pour mixture into a saucepan, whisk in the balsamic reduction and vegemite over a medium heat until thickened and warmed through.
I love a good gravy! To get the best flavour into yours, think about how you will roast the meat.
Sit the rib of beef on a vegetable ‘trivet’ of two medium onions, quartered. One large carrot, clean unpeeled, cut into large chunks. One bulb of garlic, halved. Two sticks of celery, in large pieces and a few sprigs of fresh thyme.
When the beef is cooked to your liking, set aside and keep warm.
Place the roasting tray on the hob over a medium heat and add half a bottle of good quality red wine. Scrape the tray with a wooden spoon to gather all the delicious beefy flavours from the tray.
Add 1 heaped tablespoon of tomato purée to the tray and allow to bubble. Add 250ml hot beef stock to the wine and vegetables. Strain through a sieve into a clean pot and simmer to reduce to a slightly thickened consistency.
To vary the sauce, add 150ml of cream and lots of freshly ground pepper, and simmer for 5-6 minutes to thicken. The addition of cooked sliced mushroom will add a delicious alternative.
Best Sauce for Turbot or Salmon
Aishling Moore, Owner/Chef at Goldie Fish & Ale
Christmas is all about luxury for me. This Mussel, Cider & Seaweed Demi-Glace has the depth and stickiness of a conventional gravy with bags of sea-essence umami.
Ingredients
1 onion grated
1 carrot grated
2 sticks celery grated
200g sliced button mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
1 sprig of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
1 piece of kombu kelp
1kg mussels cleaned with beards removed
25ml dry cider
200g cold unsalted butter diced
100g chopped flat leaf parsley
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 130C.
2. Place the grated onion, carrot, celery, sliced mushrooms, garlic, thyme, rosemary and kelp in a large roasting tray and coat well with 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Roast for 50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to ensure even caramelisation.
3. After 50 minutes, add 2 litres of water, return to oven for 20 minutes.
4. Strain all contents into a pot and set aside. Discard vegetables, seaweed, and herbs.
5. To cook the mussels, pre-heat a heavy based pot on medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add mussels to pot, immediately add the cider, and place a tight-fitting lid on the pot. Give the pot a little shake and leave to cook covered for 3 minutes.
6. Remove lid and strain mussels, reserving the cider and stock released by the mussels. Allow to cool slightly and discard mussels that haven’t opened. Remove mussels from shells and refrigerate.
7. Return mussel and cider stock to heat and reduce by half, then add vegetable and seaweed stock. Season with salt (keeping in mind the mussel stock is naturally high in salt), and a dash or two of apple cider vinegar.
8. Remove from heat and add the cold diced butter gradually to ensure emulsification while blending the sauce with a handheld blender.
9. Return to heat and add the picked cooked mussels, warm on low heat, careful not to split the sauce. Add chopped parsley just before serving.
This article appears in this year's Holly Bough, which contains 164 pages packed with great stories about Cork and Christmas. On sale now in shops and at hollybough.ie - €6.
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