One gravy to rule them all... (I forgot the rest).

Ingredients

• Neck and giblets from the turkey
• 1 onion, halved
• 2 carrots, halved
• 2 celery stalks, chunked
• 4 garlic cloves
• 5 parsley stalks
• 3 cloves
• 1 bouquet garni
• Half a teaspoon allspice berries
• A teaspoon black peppercorns
• 3 star anise
• 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  

To finish

• 30g butter
• 2 tablespoons flour

Place everything in a saucepan under 1 litre of water. Call to boil, bang on the lid and simmer for 2 hours. Let it cool a little before straining into a jug. Taste it. It might need a dash more soy, normal or dark.

Once your turkey has emerged from the oven, now lounging under its foil tent, it would have left a pool of fat-marbled juice in the roasting tin. Skim off the fat and reserve the juice into a bowl and sit the roasting tin over a gentle flame.

Knock in the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the floor and stir to break insidious lumps. Cook for 5 - 6 minutes to drive out its rawness as well as to caramelise it. Once it adopts the colour of butterscotch add the stock in parts, stirring constantly. This helps with the smoothness.

Now pour in the reserved turkey juices and then simmer the lot for 5 minutes and taste. If your gravy isn't dark enough for you, add a few drops of bottled cooking caramel. I procured mine from a Chinese grocer. If you want something less viscous, add a little more boiling water and adjust the seasonings accordingly.

Come serving time, reheat and pour into gravy boat.

A sovereign gravy
Stories and photos copyright © Bryan Koh, unless otherwise stated.
Not to be reproduced without permission from the author.

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