Stocks & Sauces

Cumberland sauce recipe

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As far as I’m concerned, Christmas isn’t complete without my Cumberland sauce recipe. Mixed with my easy bread sauce recipe and gravy, it elevates cockerel, turkey, and ham to true festive perfection – the North Star of your festive feast.

Ingredients

Method

  1. Carefully cut the rind from the oranges and trim away the pith from the back. Discard the pith, then julienne the peel into very thin strips, aiming for ‘angel hair’ thickness.
  2. Repeat with the lemon.
  3. Place all the citrus rind into a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then drain the water – this will mellow the rind and remove any wax.
  4. Squeeze the juice from all the citrus fruits through a sieve (it can be messy once peeled) over the rind. Stir in the mustard powder.
  5. Finely slice the ginger to the same ‘angel hair’ thickness and add to the mix.
  6. Add all the remaining ingredients.
  7. Bring the mixture to a brisk simmer and reduce until it reaches a consistency slightly looser than cough syrup.
  8. Allow to cool.
  9. Delicious served with ham.

Shop the ingredients

Valentine Warner is a chef, food writer, business owner and broadcaster, with a deep interest in nature, travel and provincial food. He describes his cooking style as ‘International Grandmother’ and combines his strong sense of storytelling with his infectious love of cookery. Val has a deep respect and understanding of ingredients, both wild and cultivated, and has the instinctive ability to rustle up hearty and wholesome meals from whatever’s available. Val is an avid proponent of native food sources, and finds common ground with Swaledale in their work to deliver top-notch meat, within a truthful, ethical and high welfare framework. Originally a trained portrait painter, Val has also authored 5 cookbooks, managed his own catering company and is a co-owner of Taqueria, a West London Mexican cafe. Val is also a partner in the Hepple Distillery in Northumberland and Holmen Lofoten hotel on arctic Norway’s Lofoten island.