I need help making GRAVY

[posey]

i'm not a bad cook but am really rubbish at gravy. It tends to be very hit and miss how it turns out.
We're having friends round for Sunday lunch and I'm doing roast chicken. I would really appreciate a fail-safe method for making gravy, using meat juices, stock etc, properly, in the roasting tin.

Please please someone help!

A better cook than me will be along to tell you how to do it. But I recommend adding a lug of Marsala to deglaze the pan - it's a bit Nigella but it does give a nice flavour to my very hit and miss gravy.

This is what I would do:

When the chicken is cooked, lift it out and onto a board that you're going to carve it on. Cover it with foil to keep it warm.

Put the roasting tin on to the hob over a medium heat and then add a generous tablespoon of plain flour to the juices. Stir, and try and get as many of the lumps out as you can as it thickens.

Once it's really thick, add whatever liquid you have to hand, ladle by ladle, till it's the consistency you prefer. Ideally you should add the water from the veg you've been cooking. You can also add some white wine/red wine/port/lemon juice (as appropriate/to hand). I sometimes add a splash of soy sauce and/or Worcestershire sauce to give a bit of extra flavour as well as colour.

Taste it, and then season appropriately.

Stir constantly so that it isn't lumpy. You may find that there are still some lumps, in which case, use a whisk to stir it or sieve it into your gravy boat.

Good luck!

I always use a jamie oliver recipe - you put carrot onion and celery under the chicken while its cooking, at the end take the chicken off, mash up the veg and add abit of flour and some stock, heat the tin on the hob, giving it all a mix and then put it all through a sieve.
I like quite strong gravy so when using doing chicken i usually add an oxo cube and red wine

That's really helpful, thank you.
BecauseI'mWorthIt that method looks just the business! Can I ask, do you remove any of the fat from the roasting tin first or just use everything?
frankie and Nancy those ideas both sound delicious. The more flavour the better!

This thread is making me crave roast chicken.

Also meant to ask, I have some chicken stock in the freezer. Can I use that? With some veg water as well?

Yes I use chicken stock as the liquid in my chicken gravy. Defrost first obviously. I do the same as BIWI but use chicken stock (always have loads of homemade in the freezer) instead of veg water.

I would say exactly as BIWI has and in answer to your chicken stock question, absolutely use it.

I don't tip the fat out - that's what helps make the gravy so tasty!

And to be honest there really isn't much fat on a chicken - it's not like when you roast a big piece of beef or lamb.

I do the BIWI method. Straightforward, no faffing.

tip the fat out of the pan, leave a little in there.

deglaze pan with wine/cider/sherry/vermouth and really get those bits off the bottom of the pan

oxo cube+water, or chicken stock, or veg water

thicken with cornflour and boil well

check for seasoning. plenty of S&P and maybe a squizz of lemon, or sometimes something sweet, like redcurrant/cranberry jelly can work.

Brilliant, thank you all. Will come back and let you know how I get on

To stop it going too lumpy, mix the cornflour or flour with a little water first then add gradually to the pan and keep whisking until it's been absorbed.