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Plain Joint Gravy
280. The ordinary kind is described under the head of Roasting, at page 44.
Or, put a small piece of glazing into a teacup, and fill the cup with boiling water; when quite dissolved, pour it over the joint and serve.
A two-line shortcut for gravy when there are no pan juices worth deglazing: meat glaze dissolved in hot water. Everything depends on the quality of the glaze.
- What "glazing" isGlaze is stock boiled down until it sets to a firm, rubbery, intensely savoury jelly ", a French glace de viande. A shop-bought demi-glace or a good stock reduction does the same job; stock cubes and gravy granules give salt and colour but not the body.
- A teacupVictorian books are not consistent; a teacupful is variously reckoned at anything from about 5 to 7 fluid ounces. Either way it is one or two servings of gravy, so scale up for a family joint.
- How much glazeThe text says only "a small piece," and gives no quantity. Start smaller than you think; concentrated glaze is very salty and can be thinned but not easily un-salted.
- Dissolving itUse water at a full boil and stir until no lumps remain on the bottom of the cup. Undissolved glaze settles and the gravy tastes thin at the top and violently meaty at the last spoonful.
- SeasoningGlaze carries the salt of whatever stock it came from, so taste before adding any. A spoonful of the roasting-pan juices, or a splash of sherry or Madeira, lifts it considerably.
- ServingPour it round the joint rather than over it if the meat has a crisp crust or crackling. Better still, send it to the table in a jug.
- The cross-referenceThe "ordinary kind" mentioned here is the pan gravy made from the roasting juices, described in the book's chapter on roasting. This entry is the fallback for when a joint has yielded too little to work with.