Christmas & Roast Dinner Great Gravy

Santa’s Finnish Christmas Dinner with Redcurrent, Mustard & Giblet Gravy

Happy New Year! We have a backlog of delicious recipes to update but Christmas took its toll and after days and days of food preparation – 5(!) separate Christmas dinners served – writing it all up was not a priority. But now, freshly rejuvenated (and just a little bit plumper) we have lots to catchup on because I, for one, am NOT joining the gym!

Santa's Christmas Dinner from Finland

Firstly, to give you an idea of an idea of our typical Christmas meal, I have attached a Christmas menu from last year based on “santa’s Christmas meal” – in other words, a Finnish Christmas dinner!

Santa’s Finnish Christmas Dinner

Honey & Balsamic Glazed Ham
Marmalade Encrusted Roast Duck
Lanttulaatikko (Swede & Nutmeg Bake)
Rosolli (Finnish Beetroot & Pear Salad)
Leek Gratin with St. Agur Blue Cheese
Cauliflower & Cheese
Goose Fat Roasted Potatoes
Cornbread & Caramelised Chestnut Stuffing
Giblet Gravy with Redcurrant & Mustard
Vodka Cream & Cranberry Martini Cocktails

One recipe I am asked about on a regular basis is how to make my amazing gravy. In the UK, Bisto is a gravy option, but I am sorry, is just glorified corn starch in my opinion. So here is how to make the perfect redcurrant, mustard & giblet gravy to accompany to any chicken or turkey roast dinner.

Redcurrant, Mustard & Giblet Gravy Ingredients

1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of redcurrant jelly
Half a chicken stock cube
Roasted turkey or chicken pan drippings
Half a glass of white wine
Shot glass of dry sherry
Chopped boiled giblets (with liquor retained for flavour)
1 tablespoon of Bisto granules
1 cup of single cream
Water

Cooking the Redcurrant, Mustard & Giblet Gravy (giblets optional)

1. Prepare the giblets by boiling for 30 minutes in 1 pint or 500ml of water with a stick of celery, half an onion & a carrot.
2. Remove and finely chop the giblets, strain the liquor and retain.
3. Pour the roasting pan drippings from the chicken or turkey into a fat separator (this is a genius invention, with the spout starting at the bottom of the container, allowing you to access the stock without the fat content).
4. Allow the fat to rise to the surface and pour the stock (plus some of the giblet liquor if you don’t have much in the way of pan drippings) back into the base of the roasting pan with the caramelised chicken or turkey drippings.
5. Whisk the liquid to dissolve the turkey or chicken drippings intensifying the stock’s flavour.
6. Pour the liquid into medium pot and bring to a gentle boil.
7. Add around half of the giblet liquor, bring to a boil again and taste – the taste should be an intensely, rich turkey or chicken flavour (if flavour is not intense enough, add the chicken stock cube and/or continue reducing the stock until intense flavour is achieved).
8. Add the mustard, redcurrant jelly & white wine to the gravy stock – whisk & taste. Should be slightly sweet with a hint of mustard with strong chicken or turkey flavour).
9. Add the single cream & dry sherry to the gravy, which should be relatively liquid at this point.
10. Add the tablespoon of Bisto to add gloss and thickness to the gravy – whisk into gravy till totally disolved.
11. Add water to the gravy if to thick or add more Bisto to thicken it more.
12. Add the chopped giblets to the gravy (if you are a fan of giblets).
13. Your redcurrant, mustard and giblet gravy is ready to be served!

Some groovy gravy history: Gravy is considered to have originated in Egypt around 3000 B.C. Hieroglyphs in the tomb of Djer at Umm el-Qa’ab appear to illustrate containers resembling classical Greek clay vessels with diners drinking a liquid that is not wine, beer or blood (by virtue of the context) – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravy for more.