Recipe by The Maple Restaurant
It's all gravy
- 2 x onions
- 2 x carrots
- 2 x sticks of celery
- 2 x rashers of smoked streaky bacon
- 2 x fresh bay leaves
- 2 x sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 2 x star anise
- 10 x chicken wings
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
- 4 tbsp x plain flour
- 2 tbsp x cranberry sauce
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Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 6.
Peel the onions, wash the carrots, then roughly chop with the celery and bacon. Put the chopped vegetables, bay leaves, sage, rosemary and star anise into a sturdy high-sided roasting tray, then scatter the chopped bacon on top. Add the chicken wings to the tray and drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper, mix together and then cook for 1 hour, or until tender.
Remove the tray from the oven and transfer to a low heat on the hob. Mash everything with a potato masher, scraping up all the goodness from the base of the tray.
Gradually stir in the flour, then pour in 2 litres of boiling water. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until thickened and reduced, stirring occasionally.
When the gravy is the consistency of your liking, remove the chicken bones and pour the mixture through a coarse sieve into a large bowl, pushing all the goodness through with the back of a spoon. Season to taste, cool to room temperature, then pour into containers or bags and pop into the fridge or freezer, ready to finish off on Christmas Day.
TWO DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS DAY
If you’ve frozen your gravy, take it out to defrost in the fridge.
ON CHRISTMAS DAY (or whenever you are using the gravy)
When the meat is cooked, remove it to a platter and pour your defrosted gravy into the tray with the rest of the meat juices. Bring to the boil over the hob and scrape up all those sticky bits from the base. Have a taste, then stir in the cranberry sauce if needed.
Once your gravy is piping hot, carefully strain through a coarse sieve into a pan, then leave it on the lowest heat until you’re ready to serve.
