Orange Gravy is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic sauce of onion, orange zest, orange juice and Port wine finished in white stock and which is typically served with wildfowl. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Orange Gravy.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
ORANGE GRAVY, for Wildfowl, Widgeon, Teal, &c.
488. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 pint of white stock, No. 107, 1 small onion, 3 or 4 strips of lemon or orange peel, a few leaves of basil, if at hand, the juice of a Seville orange or lemon, salt and pepper to taste, 1 glass of port wine.
Mode.—Put the onion, cut in slices, into a stewpan with the stock, orange-peel, and basil, and let them simmer very gently for 1/4 hour or rather longer, should the gravy not taste sufficiently of the peel. Strain it off, and add to the gravy the remaining ingredients; let the whole heat through, and, when on the point of boiling, serve very hot in a tureen which should have a cover to it.
Time.—Altogether 1/2 hour.
Sufficient for a small tureen.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
300ml white stock
1 small onion, peeled and sliced
4 strips of orange (or lemon) zest
6 basil leaves
juice of 1 Seville (or other tart) orange
150ml Port wine
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Combine the onion slices, stock, orange zest and basil in a pan. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 5 minutes then pass through a strainer, transfer the sauce to a pan, add the orange juice and port wine. Adjust the seasonings to taste, bring just to a boil then take off the heat and serve.
