It is very rarely that really good gravy is met with in small private houses, the simple reason being that cooks have never heard of brown thickening (see No. 12.).

Good clear gravy, when served separate in a tureen - I do not mean what runs out of a joint - is simply good clear stock reduced (see No. 10, and No. 26). Good, rich, brown gravy is simply good stock, such as No. 3 Stock (see No. 10), reduced (see No. 26), and thickened with brown thickening (see No. 12). Suppose you want some good, rich, brown gravy for a roast goose, hare, turkey, fowl, or any kind of game; the gravy to be served in a tureen separate. Take some No. 3 Stock (see No. 10). We will take good, fair stock to mean, that it is a light jelly when it is cold. To make what we may call rich brown gravy out of this, you must boil it half away (see No. 26). That is, a quart of stock will make a pint of gravy. Next, thicken this with brown thickening (see No. 12). Let it be of the consistency of good cream. Let it boil, and take care that the fat and grease - in fact the butter in the brown thickening - is thrown up and skimmed off. If the brown thickening was rather light in colour, a few drops of " Caramel " (see No. 19) may be added. Don't spoil the gravy with ketchup added in any quantity: a very little may be added. Worcester sauce spoils gravy. If you feel dissatisfied with it on account of its simplicity, put in one or two beads of garlic, or a teaspoonful of port-wine dregs, a teaspoonful of tomato pulp, especially for fowls or turkeys, but not for game. Better than all, some more extract of meat. If you wish to add wine, add it very sparingly. In fact, remember the best gravy is that in which the original flavour of the meat is the most retained.

GRAVY STRAINER.

Gravy before serving should always be strained once, to make sure of there being no burnt pieces, etc. The best wine for gravy is Madeira; next, golden sherry. It is a common mistake to add too much. You cannot be too careful about removing all the grease or fat from gravy, especially when brown thickening has been used. Head carefully how to remove grease from No. 4 Stock. (See No. 10).

Gravy Soup

Take some No. 3 Stock (see No. 10), thicken it very slightly with some brown thickening (See No. 12.), remove all grease, add a little extra quantity of Liebig's Extract of Meat.

Gravy For Hash

In making gravy for hash, avoid using brown thickening. (See Hash).