This beef gravy is worth the effort to include guests who can’t tolerate onions, garlic or wheat.
You will need 2 – 3kg (4½ – 6½ lbs) of meaty beef bones. You will also need some onion- and garlic-infused oil. This is available to buy but if you want to make your own simply heat some oil until it’s just warm and place whole garlic cloves and peeled small onions or shallots into the oil. Leave to infuse for 1-2 hours. Strain through a very fine filter or cheesecloth and it’s ready to use. Preheat your oven to 200ºC (395ºF). Drizzle some of the oil into the bottom of a large baking tray and place the bones into the tray in one layer. Drizzle the top with some more oil and season with salt and pepper. Don’t season too heavily as the gravy will be reduced later. Roast in the oven until the bones have a good brown crust. Transfer to a large stock pot or pressure cooker and add some carrot pieces and peppercorns. Simmer for 3-4 hours (1 hour in a pressure cooker). Strain the liquid into a smaller saucepan and simmer to reduce by about ¼. Add 1 fresh bay leaf, 1 sprig of rosemary, 2-3 sprigs of thyme, a splash of red wine vinegar and 2-3 teaspoons of miso. Stir the miso into the stock through a small mesh strainer to avoid any lumps. Continue to simmer and reduce for another 20 minutes or so. Season with salt to taste. When you’re satisfied with the flavour thicken the gravy with a slurry of cornstarch and water adding a little at a time and cooking to thicken until you have the desired consistency.
michelle picker cooks 