Help with making gravy please.

kit77

Tonight we are having the M&S chicken that is coated in a sticky sauce.

Normally we just use good old bisto gravy but the juices that are left over from the chicken when it's cooked look and taste lovely and i would love to know how to make it into gravy.

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

Put a litre? of chicken stock of choice in roasting tray. Use spatula to scrap off tasty deposits full of yumminess. Let it all cook up together. Meanwhile prepare a beuire maniere (butter and flour paste) plonk an appropriate amount into bits liquid and use a whisk to whisk it altogether.
Let it cook for a good ten mins or so to cook out the flour. Taste for seasonings. When ready serve, enjoy!

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

What is the M&S Chicken coated with to make it lovely and sticky?
I imagine a decent flavourful chicken gravy will more than set it off.

Mrs_Chip

Either use some cornflour slaked in a little water to thicken, or even make gravy with normal power and add the juices to it. If the juices are sugary sticky, cornflour would be better I think.

kit77

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

The chicken is coated in brown sugar and honey. We have this chicken about once a week but today I really fancy trying something different gravy wise.

As there is plenty of juice I might try adding some to our normal gravy and also making one just with the juices.

Shame its only 9am I am starving and fancy some roast chicken right now:)

ALWAYS_POOR

Heat the juices a bit to get rid of any excess water then add about two tablespoons of flour and using a balloon whisk mix until you have a smooth mixture, then I add two oxo cubes for a bit of colour, then add water from the veg a bit at a time mixing as you go to keep it from getting lumpy. Turn on the heat and keep mixing until you can see it thicken, turn it down and simmer until needed. You may have to juggle with the measurements a bit to get it right.

vax2002

The best gravy is made in a new pan with a hand blender, all the taste, nice clear smooth sauce.

My secret gravy recipe.

Fill meat dish with cold water, scoop off excess fat, empty/ remove contents of meat dish in to a small pan, add a small cabbage leaf, 1/4 of chopped onion and two small bits of cooked chicken , 1 tb spoon of cranberry, 2 tb spoons of apple sauce, boil, add two chicken stock cubes, smidge of ground pepper corn, heat, add corn flour to thicken leave to cool a bit, hand blend in to a smooth sauce, heat when required.
HMMMM.....

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

Mine at risk of sounding like a bloody ad are Waitrose Fresh Stocks or Kallo Chicken stock cubes and a bierre maniere (flour and butter paste).

I haven't been converted to cornflour [yet] but Chinese cooking is at least converting me to it's use in standard conventional Chinese cooking.

@vax2002 that sounds like a mother of all gravies!

Like you I believe in zuzzing up one's gravies which can always take lots of taste boostiers from vegetables to judicious uses of fruity sauces like cranberry, apple and redcurrant so wonderful with a nice bit of chicken ( or other white meat as appropriate).

thriftwizard

Some lovely ideas up above! I usually pour off the juices into a small saucepan halfway through the cooking time, & finely chop say half an onion, some celery, a small carrot & add those, then throw in some of your favourite herbs & a handful of frozen elderberries. Simmer whilst the roast is finishing; it'll "reduce" & towards the end I'll add salt & pepper to taste, fish out any bay leaves & stick-blend it. When the roast comes out of the oven, pour any more juices in, add some hot water to the roasting dish & simmer off any nice tasty deposits, then add that to the saucepan too. (Which also makes it easier to clean the dish!) If it needs thickening, mix a little cornflour with cold water until it resembles gloop, then stir that into the simmering mixture. (I try to avoid using the cornflour, so that any leftover gravy can become the base of a soup for lunches during the week. The cornflour has a tendency to make that burn easily.)

Sounds like a lot of work, but it isn't really - especially not if I can get the teenagers to do the chopping! I can get onions, carrots etc. really cheaply on our local market (paid £1 for a sack of organic parsnips the other day) and that's what's in the veggie stock cubes. I do use them, but when I haven't got any, it's easy enough to DIY; using enough salt is the key.

Jonny_Red

If the dish that you have cooked the chicken in is non-stick and suitable to use on the hob, it would be nice to make your gravy in that because then you get all of the flavour from the chickeny bits that are stuck to the pan.

The best way to do this I've found is to:

1) drain off as much of the excess fat as you can

2) deglaze (*) the pan with a little wine (dry cider works well with chicken instead) and stock (Marigold Vegetable Boullion works very well... just use this if you want a completly alcohol free version).

2) Bring to mixture to the boil and then turn the heat to a simmer. If you want a thick gravy add a little cornflour mixed with water to thicken things up and simmer for a while to cook out the flour. If you would prefer more of a jus, just leave the mixture to simmer and reduce down until it gets to a sticky enough consistency for you.

(*) deglazing the pan simply means putting the pan on the heat and immediately adding wine/cider/beer or stock to it and scraping the pan with a spoon to free up all of the tasty bits that are stuck to the bottom after roasting.

You can use a very similar technique to make a lush caramelised onion gravy which turns some simple sausage and mash into a gourmet meal... I'll post the recipe if anyone wants it

Hope that helps/inspires... enjoy your chicken!

LondonDreamer

This is how I make gravy for all meats. Replace the wine/wine vinegar and stock as appropriate to match the meat you are using, e.g. for beef use red wine and beef stock instead of white and chicken below...

In the roasting pan you will use for the chicken, add a handful or two of roughly chopped vegetables. I use whatever I have lying around from a choice of onions, carrots, leeks, garlic and celery. No need to peel any of them, especially the onion as the skin will give the gravy a nice colour. I also add a couple of bay leaves and a few whole peppercorns. Place chicken on top of this mix and roast as normal.

Once you've gotten the meat out to rest, pour a splash of white wine vinegar into the hot pan. You can use wine, but I never have it on hand. Scrape up all the sticky bits into the liquid. Add a bit of hot stock or water at this point if the pan is a bit too dry. With a fork or potato masher, crush all the roasted veggies to release their flavour into the liquid and scrape again if necessary.

Strain the juices into a small saucepan and skim off as much fat as you want. Mix a spoonful of cornflour and cold water into a smooth paste. Pour this into the juices along with enough hot chicken stock for how much gravy you wish to make. Simmer until it thickens.