Get-ahead gravy with lovely leftover recipes

You’ve gotta love gravy. It has the power to take your Christmas dinner from great to greatest – or even save it! Some might even say it’s the most important part of the meal (move over roasties!).

Not nailed your timings? No worries. Piping-hot, deliciously flavoured gravy can hide a multitude of sins! And when it comes to good gravies, there’s no doubt Jamie’s Get-ahead gravy is up there with the best. Make it a couple of weeks before Christmas and it’ll save you time and stress on The Big Day, while ensuring you have a gold-standard dish in the bag.

Just when you thought the recipe couldn’t get any better, Jamie has updated it for 2022. This Get-Ahead Gravy Day, swap out the chicken wings for thighs and drumsticks and you’re left with beautifully flavoured cooked meat, as well as the veg, which is perfect for making a delicious family meal, ensuring food waste is kept to a minimum. In fact, by making Get-ahead gravy you’re killing two birds with one stone – you’ll end up with a delicious festive gravy and dinner for all the family! Come on, it doesn’t get much better than that!

So take your pick from the four fab recipes we’ve created to help you use up those leftovers. Which will you make tonight?

Looking for more inspiration for the ultimate Christmas dinner sauce? Check our our beautiful collection here

FIRST, GATHER UP THOSE LOVELY LEFTOVERS

When you’re making your Get-ahead gravy, once you’ve sieved the ingredients in step 6, leave it to cool, then carefully pick the meat off the chicken bones and discard them, along with any whole spices and herbs. You need to be very careful here, so it’s time to put on a Christmas podcast and settle in, so you don’t miss anything. Then use your lovely meat and veg leftovers to make one of the four gorgeous recipes below. (Please remember, these chicken leftovers can only be reheated once, and must be piping hot before serving.)

A proper family favourite, this scruffy lasagne is only made better by using the Get-ahead gravy leftovers. It’s the perfect mix of silky pasta, flavour-packed filling and a beautifully crunchy topping — a real winner!

Making a hearty meal doesn’t get much easier than this. Jamie takes inspiration from a cottage pie for this recipe: simply top your Get-ahead gravy leftovers with gorgeous buttery mash and you have a delicious dish. The mash allows the flavours of the leftovers to really sing.

The perfect finger-food this festive season! For this recipe, the Get-ahead gravy leftovers are mixed with Cheddar, then wrapped in golden flaky pastry and dotted with festive cranberry sauce. Serve up with a fresh green salad and a touch of English mustard if you fancy!

If a brunchy lunch is more your style, make this tasty tortilla. This potato tortilla uses piccalilli to pack an extra special flavour punch, making the most of humble ingredients. It’s super easy to whip up on a weeknight using your Get-ahead gravy leftovers.

Check out more gorgeous festive recipes in Jamie's Christmas Hub