Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Roast Chicken Pan Gravy - Getting to the “Bottom” of Flavor

Yes, more gravy! This clip goes along with the already posted “Ultimate” Roast Chicken recipe clip, but was never posted, so here you go. Don’t think of this as a recipe. Think of this as a basic culinary technique that you can do anytime you’ve roasted meat in a heavy pan.

The ‘bottom” I’m referring to in the headline, is the bottom of the heavy Stainless Steel Lined Copper Frying Pan we used to roast our chicken. As a meat roasts, proteins caramelize on the pan’s bottom, and that sticky brown goodness is the base for any pan gravy. In culinary terms this is called a “fond.”

The procedure is basic. Remove the bird. Pour off the excess fat (mostly the butter we used under the skin) into a small bowl. Add some flour to the pan and mix with the fond. Add just enough of the reserve fat to form a somewhat dry crumbly roux, and toast on low heat for 5 minutes. Add cold stock, or any other liquid, and cook for about ten minutes to finish. That’s it!

I don’t normally strain the gravy, but if you want a “finer” gravy product you need to use a Fine Mesh Strainer.

Ingredients:
Pan full of beautiful pan drippings or “fond”
2 tbl flour
Reserved fat/butter from pan
about 2 cups of cold stock or other flavorful liquid
salt and pepper to taste

4 comments:

Beans said...

Thanks so much for taking the time to pop by and view my blog =) I feel really honoured! Still working out the kinks though, I'm not excatly tech savy.. I discovered your site about a week back and fell in love with it straight away. Spent a whole day going through almost all the videos when I should have been studying. Your recipes look yummy Can't wait to try them out!

Anonymous said...

Doh!!!!

Anna said...

Thank you for taking the time to post this. It may be a well known technique to some people but for someone less skilled in the kitchen it is very beneficial...in this case that 'someone' is me, so thank you very much.

Unknown said...

Wow, I have stumbled across your Blog and what a God-send it is! Your very easy and clear videos makes anyone want to start cooking right away! Thankyou!
I have a question regarding the humble Gravy. I have read that gravy can be sweetened (e.g some type of Jam -Cranberry) what do you suggest regarding this? When would you add and what amount? Your thoughts would very much be appreciated.
Thankyou
Cathy