There's a gravy boat on the shelf at Casa Adora that has been in my family since around 1900. It's part of the Idris range, manufactured by W.H. Grindley between 1900 and 1910, and it belonged to my Scottish granny, who was born in 1883 and lived until 1973. It's one of the few things of hers I have, along with a handful of photographs. If family history is your cup of tea, you can see her records here.

I mention it because the gravy boat gets used. Not just for Sunday roasts and Christmas turkey — it's been on the table for katsu curry sauce, red wine reductions, and a trompette de la mort mushroom gravy that has no business being as good as it is. A gravy boat doesn't care what goes in it. Neither do I, particularly.

Good gravy starts with good stock. That's the foundation of everything in this collection — a proper homemade stock, reduced and seasoned, is the difference between a gravy that tastes of something and one that doesn't. The stock recipes here are as important as the gravies themselves.

What follows is a growing collection of stock and gravy recipes from Casa Adora — from the classic British gravies that belong alongside a roast to mushroom gravies, red wine reductions, and the stocks that make all of them possible.

The Stocks — Where Every Good Gravy Starts

A good stock is not optional. It's the foundation of everything that follows — the difference between a gravy that tastes of something and one that doesn't. These are the stock recipes I come back to regularly at Casa Adora.

Free-Range Chicken Stock: A Weekly Ritual — The one I make most often. A proper chicken stock, made from the carcass of a free-range bird, reduced and stored. The starting point for chicken gravy, soups, risottos, and a great deal else.
Mastering the Art of Making Perfect Stock — The principles behind a good stock, whatever the base ingredient. Worth reading before anything else.
Beef Bone Stock — Rich, deeply coloured, and the backbone of any serious beef gravy or red wine reduction. Slow, unhurried, and worth every minute.
Under Pressure — Brown Stock — The pressure cooker route to a proper brown stock. Faster than the traditional method without sacrificing depth.

The Gravies — Built on Proper Foundations

Classic British gravies, mushroom gravies, and the occasional red wine reduction. All made from scratch, all starting with a good stock.

British Gravy Recipes — Seven Classic Gravies from Casa Adora — Onion, red wine, chicken, vegetarian mushroom, Christmas turkey, beef, and giblet. Seven recipes, one post, all the classics covered.
Trompette de la Mort Mushroom Gravy — A dark, intensely flavoured mushroom gravy made with trompette de la mort — one of the finest wild mushrooms available in Spain. Served alongside juicy beef meatballs.
Parmesan Mushroom Gravy — A rich, savoury gravy with mushrooms and Parmesan. Another from the meatball collection, and good enough to stand on its own.
Chuletón for Sunday Lunch with Real Gravy — A proper Sunday lunch built around a chuletón — the magnificent Basque bone-in ribeye — with a real gravy made from the pan juices. My Scottish granny would have approved.

Wonky photos, proper gravy, genuine adventures – The Flexible Chef.