HFF 3.25: Waste Not, Want Not

The Challenge: Waste Not, Want Not: Historic recipes for leftovers.

The Recipe: A Cheap Gravy For Hashes, &c. from Beeton's Book of Household Management

440. INGREDIENTS – Bones and trimmings of the cooked joint intended for hashing, 1/4 teaspoonful of salt, 1/4 teaspoonful of whole pepper, 1/4 teaspoonful of whole allspice, a small faggot of savoury herbs, 1/2 head of celery, 1 onion, 1 oz. of butter, thickening, sufficient boiling water to cover the bones.
Mode.—Chop the bones in small pieces, and put them in a stewpan, with the trimmings, salt, pepper, spice, herbs, and celery. Cover with boiling water, and let the whole simmer gently for 1–1/2 or 2 hours. Slice and fry the onion in the butter till it is of a pale brown, and mix it gradually with the gravy made from the bones; boil for 1/4 hour, and strain into a basin; now put it back into the stewpan; flavour with walnut pickle or ketchup, pickled-onion liquor, or any store sauce that may be preferred. Thicken with a little butter and flour, kneaded together on a plate, and the gravy will be ready for use. After the thickening is added, the gravy should just boil, to take off the rawness of the flour.
Time.—2 hours, or rather more.

The Date/Year and Region: 1861, London

How Did You Make It: I took the bones and trimmings from a half-dozen pork chops, and placed them in a stock pot with 1/4 tsp each of salt, whole peppercorns, whole allspice, the off-cuts of a head of lettuce, 1 white onion (chopped) and the last of the parsley, winter savory, marjoram, and sage from my garden (amounting to a scant handful).  I covered these with water, and let them stew for about 2 hours. I strained the liquid, then boiled it again, adding a roux made of 1 oz of butter and about 1/4 cup gluten free flour. This still seemed a little thin, so I added a bit more flour, but didn't stir well enough, resulting in lumps.

I ended up with about a quart of gravy.

Time to Complete: 3 ish hours, though much of that time was just the stock boiling on the stove.

Total Cost: All items on hand.

How Successful Was It?: The flavor is great, which was a relief. I'd been worried, since my cooking experience has always been that gravy comes from a packet--making my own from recognizable foodstuffs really felt like an accomplishment. It also helped achieve the event goal, since I was trying to make a gluten-free, mostly meat-free [though not this dish] period meal for some friends with food sensitivities. Making the gravies and stocks from scratch helped me limit the risk of accidental allergens. 

This gravy ended up a little lumpy. At the same time, however, I tried a no-meat gravy [Beeton's Brown Gravy Without Meat, sans beer because of the gluten, though it still tasted great], in which I mixed the flour in better, and did not have this problem. So, the lumps were more a technique than a recipe failure. 

When I need a gravy in the future, I will probably use one of these two recipes, depending on whether I have left-over bones and/or need a vegetarian-friendly options.

How Accurate Is It?: Fairly. I did use the modern stove. The gluten-free flour (a 1-to-1 substitute containing a mixture of rice flour, arrowroot, and xantham gum) was an intentional change to suit the occasion; savory herbs are not closely defined in any source I could find, so there was some guesswork there. 

Rest assured, I didn't try to can the gravy,
I just ran out of containers for the leftovers.