With Christmas around the corner and Sunday roast season in full swing, James Martin just shared the ultimate nugget of culinary knowledge - the secret to the perfect gravy.
As the TV chef appeared on This Morning alongside Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, he had those of us on Christmas feast cooking duty taking notes as he divulged his steps to achieving a seriously rich and delicious gravy.
Describing his method as the 'classic, classic' way, James explained that no thickening agents like cornflour are needed in his recipe - and he urged viewers to 'go out now' and buy one key ingredient to make gravy the way chefs do.
When asked by Cat what his 'go-to Christmas gravy recipe' is, James began by saying, "In the supermarkets now you've got the pre-made stocks. Go out now and buy it.
"The minute you hit the week before Christmas, you've got no chance. Veal stock or chicken stock is what you want. You can't really make it out of turkey stock."
Sharing that chefs in restaurants use this method and that 'very few' make their own stocks anymore, he continued, "Red wine in a pan. Half a bottle for instance, for Christmas for ten people.
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"Then you put about a litre and a half of this stock in there. So, a decent amount. Then you put a good knob of butter in - about a third of a block," James added.
"Then you reduce it down. The butter will sit on top. When the sauce is ready, it all emulsifies into a gravy, into a classic chef's style jus. That's by reducing it down."
James makes his gravy in advance and then freezes it in portions ready to go. "Then you put it into ice cube trays, freeze it, then take two ice cubes for one person and just warm it up in a pan. It's done."
