Recipe: Sherry Gravy
Many of my recipe ideas come from the happy accident of two or more unrelated ingredients being in close proximity to each other and giving me an idea to try out.
So this recipe idea comes from one day making gravy with one hand and drinking a glass of sherry with the other, and suddenly thinking, ‘what if?’
Making The Gravy
Well make the gravy however you like. Different people prefer to make gravy from meat juices, some with gravy granules, and some with a combination.
I like to begin with gravy granules, placed dry into a jug or pan, depending how I am making the gravy that day. To that I add the sherry, which allows the sherry to soak into the granules and really mix up the flavour.
You don’t need to use too much sherry to really enhance the flavour, and I would recommend experimenting and starting with smaller amounts. I find that about half a capful of cream sherry per person is about right.
I will then usually use any water left over from boiling or steaming any vegetables. Much better to use such water in the gravy that has some of the nutrition from cooking the vegetables, rather than pouring it away and boiling non-nutritious water from the kettle.
I will often add some meat juices from cooking the meat to add flavour but I personally don’t add too much. This is mostly because I am trying to avoid having too much fat, but again personal choice reigns here.
Alternatives
I have tried a couple of alternatives to sherry, with a variety of success or failure:
Jack Daniels Tennessee Gravy – this one really didn’t work, and I wouldn’t recommend it
Mulled Wine Gravy – this worked but was rather strong and rich. This version replaces all of the water in the gravy with mulled wine, which was a little much. Diluting the mulled wine may be more effective. I will probably do a separate blog post for this variation at some point.
Other options that I am looking at trying at some point are gravies using port, red wine & white wine.
As always with recipes, they should be a guideline and a starting point and you shouldn’t stick to them too religiously. Experiment with ingredients, quantities and variations to discover what you enjoy.
