Aaaaah, not Bisto

I am now officially more prepared for Christmas than I ever have been before. A little late-night sieve- action has resulted in a bootiful turkey gravy* ready to be popped in the freezer for the big day. It's a bit more trouble to make it now, but you'll be glad you did.

Eye of newt and toe of frog...

*Warning: does not contain turkey

Here's how I did it:

Tip a 0.75kg pack of chicken wings into a large roasting tin and add 2 carrots, 2 sticks of celery, 4 rashers of bacon, quarter of a leek, an onion, 3 cloves of garlic and a couple of sprigs of rosemary. Let it cook for about an hour on 190/gas 6 until the chicken is golden brown, giving it a stir or 2 on the way. 

Take it out of the oven and tip everything into a large pan, breaking up the wings with your fingers. Pour some boiling water into the roasting tin and use a spatula to scrape every last bit of flavour and colour off the bottom. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons plain flour over the contents of the pan and stir really well, then gradually add the water from the roasting tin, stirring all the time. Then add a load of cold water and a chicken stock cube - enough water to cover the contents of the pan and then some.  You can't really add too much as you are going to bring it all to the boil and simmer it for an hour or so until it has reduced and is tasting great.

Now sieve it well to extract as much flavour as possible from the bones, meat and veg. Put it in the fridge until cold and skim fat off the top, before bagging up for the freezer.

You can either serve it as is on the day: and/or add juices from your turkey pan (discard fat first), a glass of wine (red or white), some water that your veg are cooking in (if it needs thinning), another stock cube (if needed) or some cornflour dissolved in a little water (to thicken).