The Filthy Animal
- Dec 13, 2025
- 4 min read
i went BIG on the stuffing here so feel free to half the amount. However if your a stuffing lover like me then crack on and add as much as your sarnie can handle.
Let's get stuck in with what you need and do.
What You Need
You can go with whatever takes your fancy here.
Gravy
2 onions
2 carrots
2 sticks of celery
2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
2 fresh bay leaves
2 sprigs of fresh sage
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 star anise
10 free-range chicken wings
olive oil
optional: 60ml port or red wine
4 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoons cranberry sauce
Cranberry Sauce
1 cup cranberries
4 tbsp water
4 tbsp honey, maple syrup, or sugar
2-3 small strip orange zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Bacon & Crispy Shallot Crumb
8-10 rashers of rashers of smoked streaky bacon
5-6 shallots
Oil for deep frying
Mayo
3 eggs
1 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 cups olive oil
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig sage
Everything else
Black sheep tiger bread or something similar
Oil for frying
What You Do
Turkey and Stuffing
Cook the turkey and stuffing as per the M&S instructions or prepare your own.
Gravy - Jamie Oliver recipe
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
Peel the onions, wash the carrots, then roughly chop with the celery and bacon. Put the veg, bay leaves, sage, rosemary and star anise into a sturdy high-sided roasting tray, then scatter the chopped bacon on top.
Add the chicken to the tray. Break them open first and bash with a rolling pin to help release extra flavour as they cook. Drizzle with oil, season with sea salt and black pepper, toss, then cook for 1 hour, or until tender.
Remove the tray from the oven and transfer to a low heat on the hob. Really grind and mash everything with a potato masher, scraping up all the goodness from the base of the tray (the longer you let it fry, the darker your gravy will be). If you want to add port or red wine, now’s the time to do so; just leave it to cook away for a few minutes.
Gradually stir in the flour, then pour in 2 litres of boiling kettle water. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until thickened and reduced, stirring occasionally.
When the gravy is the consistency of your liking, pour it through a coarse sieve into a large bowl, pushing all the goodness through with the back of a spoon. Taste and season to perfection, cool to room temperature, then pour into containers or bags and pop into the fridge or freezer, ready to finish off on Christmas Day.
2 Days Before
If you’ve frozen your gravy, take it out to defrost in the fridge until needed.
On the Day
When the turkey’s perfectly cooked, remove it to a platter to rest for up to 2 hours, covered with a double layer of tin foil and a clean tea towel. Skim away most of the fat from the tray, cool, and place into a jar in the fridge for tasty cooking another day.
Pour your defrosted Get-ahead gravy into the tray with the rest of the turkey juices. Bring to the boil over the hob and scrape up all those sticky bits from the base. Have a taste, then stir in the cranberry sauce to balance the flavours.
Once your gravy is piping hot, carefully strain through a coarse sieve into a pan, then leave it on the lowest heat until you’re ready to serve. Skim away any fat that rises to the top, and add any extra resting juices from the turkey before serving.
Cranberry
Add the cranberries, water, sweetener, orange zest, and salt to a small saucepan.
Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook 5-7 minutes, until the cranberries burst and the mixture thickens.
Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.
Cool to room temperature.
Mayo
Gently heat at around 60c the oil with the rosemary and sage and leave for 5 mins or so. Then let it cool. This could take a while hours so plan ahead.
In a jar add all ingredients leave the oil till last.
Then emulsify starting at the very bottom and only raising after it starts to thicken at the bottom.
Slowly lift as you see the rest thicken.
If you don't have a emulsifier then whist the eggs in a bowl and slowly add the other ingredients adding the oil last. Add the oli slowly whilst whisking making sure it doesn't split.
Bacon & Crispy Shallot Crumb
Stick the bacon in the over or under the grill. Cook until it is proper crispy.
Slice and deep fry off some shallots at 180c for around 6-8 mins.
Remove once golden brown and place in a bowl with some kitchen towel to remove the excess oil. Chop once cool and mix with the bacon.
When all the elements are done you can do the most exciting part - build your sarnie!
Now there is only one thing left to do.....get stuck in!
Don't forgot to tag @mysarnie and use the hashtag #trustthecrust
Thanks for reading and enjoy the sarnie!
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