Gravy is one of the most important parts of any roast dinner, as it helps to bind it all together.
It can help to enhance the flavours of the meat, vegetables as well as the potatoes.
There are many recipes to make gravy from scratch, but according to James Martin, this is hard when it comes to a Christmas dinner.
Although doable, the chef explained that making gravy from a turkey can be difficult.
Spending ages making gravy from scratch on the big day is the last thing many want to be doing.
Instead, James unveiled his expert advice on creating the “perfect” gravy, without any of the faff.
Sharing a TikTok video on Denby’s page after a trip to Denby Pottery, James said: “My top tip for Christmas, as well as learning how to make pots like this at Denby, is get your sauce ready for Christmas.
“It’s very easy. It’s very difficult to make gravy out of turkey. The best way to do it is to go to your supermarket, you see little pouches of stock.
“Sometimes it’s veal stock, sometimes it’s chicken stock. Either way, get a couple of pouches of each for about four people; that’s about a litre.
“Take a glass of wine, a good knob of butter, about 30 to 40g, pop it into a pan altogether and boil it for about 10 minutes.
“As it reduces, the butter will emulsify into the sauce. Take it off the heat, season it up and then pop it in the freezer, and it’ll be ready for Christmas Day.”
The expert said this is the best way to do a sauce because if you try and get stock a day or two before the big day, it’ll likely be sold out.”
The TikTok video has more than 180,000 views, with commentators expressing thanks to the chef for the straightforward recipe.
One person commented: “This seems so simple, I’ll try it, thanks so much.”
Another noted: “Thank you, I shall be doing this tomorrow as it saves lots of time.”
If you do attempt to make turkey gravy from scratch, you’ll need some flour to thicken and create a roux, as well as some additional turkey or chicken stock.
According to many recipes, the gravy can take a while to come together, so it’s best avoided on Christmas Day when time is short.
