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As the chillier and darker evenings start to draw in, countless households will be turning to warming dishes that perfectly capture the essence of autumn. With gravy serving as the perfect companion to beloved British staples, like Sunday roasts and bangers and mash, top chefs have revealed their secret weapon for crafting the ultimate sauce. According to The Times Weekend, Jack Stein, chef director of the Rick Stein Group, suggests "cheating" by utilising shop-bought fresh stock with other ingredients. "Cook down some onions, garlic, and thyme with a good glug of red wine. Allow this to reduce by around half, and then add the stock," he shared. "I use those pouches you can buy. Let it simmer for half an hour, then add a tablespoon of Marmite and soy sauce for an umami hit and a splash of vinegar to taste." Onions are also the preferred base for Lisa Goodwin Allen, executive chef at the Michelin-starred Northcote restaurant in Langho. She suggests softly sautéing onions over gentle heat until they turn golden, before incorporating thyme, garlic, wine (red for beef or lamb, white for chicken), and quality stock. "Reduce this nicely so it starts to thicken," she explains, then strain. "If you do this the day before, then on the day you can whisk or blend in all those lovely roasting juices that have come off your meat." For an even more indulgent finish, Lisa advocates whisking a touch of melted fat from your chosen meat into the gravy. "This will give it that glossy look, but it will also really impact the flavour," she concluded. Incorporating stock into gravy proves a brilliant strategy for enhancing flavour, texture, or overall balance. Chef, broadcaster, and culinary writer Melissa Thompson believes crafting your own stock cubes for freezing represents the superior approach. To achieve this, she champions onion, recommending chopping several alongside carrots, half a complete garlic bulb, leeks, celery, herbs, and vegetable scraps. Following oven preheating to 180C fan, she suggests arranging the components across a roasting tray before crowning with 750g of sizeable beef bones and trimmings. Chef Mike Reid recently named onion as his essential component for most dishes, partnering it with chilli and garlic. "Those are the three I couldn't cook without. Probably onion is my absolute favourite - it goes in everything almost," he admitted. “It’s the base of so much flavour: onion, garlic, I couldn’t survive without it." Should you opt to buy shop-bought gravy or stock, Yorkshire chef Tommy Banks recommends examining the ingredients and still adding to it for extra flavour. "You're roasting beautiful meat and veg, then covering it in processed thickeners," he revealed. "If you must use them, add pan juices, a splash of wine or a spoon of Marmite. All of that will make it better." Melissa agreed, stating: "I'd never use granules alone, but with real stock they can add depth."
