Chicken gravy that tastes like liquid gold
Gravy is arguably the best part of a roast dinner, famously bringing each ingredient on the plate together and singing harmoniously. Achieving the right balance of fat, flavour and thickness in gravy can be tricky and understandably most people reach for instant pre-made chicken stock and thickeners for fast reliable results. In this recipe, you will find an easy step-by-step guide to making a luxurious high-quality chicken stock, reminiscent of your favourite restaurant or pub version. It does require a little extra work, but if you want to impress your dinner guests, it’s worth the effort.
Using top-quality ingredients for best results
It might seem decadent to use a whole chicken for making the perfect chicken gravy, but the good news is you only need the bones which leaves a nice amount of shredded chicken meat left over for sandwiches, nachos, pies or soups. So really when you think about it, this is a handy 2 in 1 recipe.
Roasted chicken and garlic
First, you need to roast a whole chicken with 2 whole garlic bulbs. As mentioned above, the chicken meat will be removed and only the bones, pan juices and whole garlic bulbs will be used for the stock base.
Bacon is the best flavour enhancer
The power of bacon and bacon fat cannot be denied. Towards the end of cooking add streaky bacon to the roasting tray for a delicious injection of salty, fatty flavour.
Remove the meat and gather your stock ingredients
Remove the chicken meat from the bone and set it aside for another meal. Cut the ends off each roasted garlic bulb and squeeze out the soft juicy insides.
Don’t forget the pan juices
Most people now know that what lies at the bottom of the roasting pan is a secret weapon. Add 200ml of hot water to the roasting tray, scrape up all the crunchy bits and pan juices and add this to the stock.
Chicken gravy stock ingredients
Pace the chicken bones, bacon and roasted in a pot along with rough chopped onion, potato, carrot, cabbage, salt and water, bring it to a boil, then simmered for 4 hours.
Extracting as much flavour as possible
Now it’s time to apply another trick – Take a standard potato masher and mash the ingredients together as best you can, breaking them down so they blend into the soup and extract maximum flavour.
Refine your gravy
Strain the gravy through a fine-meshed sieve, discarding the cooked ingredients and bones. Repeat a second time to ensure a nice smooth sauce.
The final touches
Return the gravy to a clean pot. Add the flour thickener and bring to a near boil, allowing the gravy to cook down and thicken until you have the perfect gravy consistency. When ready, taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
Now you have the perfect chicken gravy! Serve immediately, refrigerate for another day or freeze for use at a later date. Keep scrolling down for the full recipe.
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The Ultimate Chicken Gravy
A rich tasty chicken gravy recipe that tastes like liquid gold
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4.5 hours
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 1600ml 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stove Top Cooking
- Cuisine: European
Ingredients
- 1.2kg chicken
- 2 whole garlic bulbs
- 6 rashes of streaky bacon
- 1 large white onion
- 1 medium carrot
- 220g white cabbage
- 1 small potato, skin on
- 2 tsp sea salt flakes
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Heat oven to 200°C
- Rub chicken with oil and season all sides with salt.
- Cut the ends off 2 large whole garlic bulbs, rub in a little oil then wrap each bulb in foil.
- Transfer chicken and garlic bulbs to an oven-roasting tray. Roast for 40 minutes. Remove the tray, layer streaky bacon in the tray around the chicken, and return to the oven for 10 more minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven, transfer garlic bulbs and bacon to a separate bowl and allow the chicken to rest for 20 minutes in the roasting tray and release its juices.
- After this time, remove all the chicken meat from the bones and set it aside to use for another recipe.
- Cut ends of garlic bulbs and squeeze out flesh.
- Add 200ml of hot water to the chicken roasting tray and using a spoon, scrape up all the sticky bits and fat.
- Transfer the tray juices, chicken bones, bacon and garlic to a large pot. Next add onion, carrot, potato, cabbage and salt. Top with another 1600ml of hot water (all the ingredients should be submerged under the water, if not add more to achieve this)
- Bring the pot to a boil, cover with a lid then turn to simmer for 4 hours.
- After 4 hours you will have an extremely flavoursome stock. Using a potato masher, mash the ingredients down to extract as much flavour and add thickness to the stock.
- Strain in a fine mesh sieve and discard the leftover ingredients. Strain a second time to get a really nice smooth consistency.
- Return the stock to a clean pot and bring it back to medium heat. Combine cornstarch with a little water to make a paste, then add it to the stock along with the balsamic vinegar and dijon. Continue to cook until the stock has thickened to a gravy consistency.
- Remove from heat, taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- The gravy is now ready to serve!
- Will last 5 days in the fridge or can be frozen for use at a later date.
Keywords: best chicken stock, sunday roast gravy, meat gravy
