The Best Chicken Gravy Ever from Blog Well Done

I don’t know how it happens, but I seem to always be busy.  Every week I think that “next week will be the week where things slow down.” And, one of these weeks, that’s going to be true. I’m sure of it!

However, this is not the week! After a week in Cape Cod and then a week of preparing cookies and cakes, I am now getting ready for a visit from the lovely Mardi of Eat. Live. Travel. Write. this week.  I’m so thrilled that she’s coming (I’m sure you’ll read all about it next week), and I’m also thrilled that I have some fantastic blogger friends who have volunteered to help me through my busy summer by writing some great guest posts!

Today I’m taking you on a visit to get familiar with Chris Perrin of Blog Well Done. I met Chris through the #SOSFood chats on Twitter a few (or maybe more than a few) months ago. He’s fun to converse with on Twitter, he has a great sense of humor, and he makes some pretty awesome food, too.

When you stop by his site, be sure to check out the 100 Things About Chris Perrin page… It will make you smile! Be sure to follow him on Twitter, too… I think he’d like that.

Thanks, Chris, for sharing your amazing recipe for chicken gravy… I am forever in your debt!

In our not too distant past, gravy was relegated to a mere culinary afterthought when it became possible to make it from a packet. At that moment, rich, glossy, flavorful gravy was sacrificed on the altar of convenience and replaced with grainy, lumpy, sodium-laden slush served to undeserving holiday in-laws and school children.

Well, no more I say! Gravy should be Pharaoh protected by the mighty food pyramid! Gravy should not be the meal, rather the meal should be a well-constructed gravy delivery vehicle.

However, this cannot happen unless we have a good gravy recipe. Given the importance of this issue, there’s no time to dilly dally. Thus, without further ado, here is the recipe for the Best. Chicken. Gravy. Ever.

The Best Chicken Gravy Ever Recipe

Let’s make no bones about it (okay, maybe a few chicken bones, more on that in a minute), this is not an easy recipe. This recipe requires time, not just whisking in a broth and little thickener at the last second. Making the best gravy ever is no trivial thing.

However, it’s worth it and it’s not that much extra work. You just need a little extra planning because we are first going to make brown chicken stock. Then we roast a chicken so that we have flavorings for our gravy and a meal to serve it on.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of chicken bones, meat removed
• 2 onions, roughly chopped (divided)
• 2.5 oz tomato paste
• Olive oil
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 whole chicken, washed
• Salt and pepper
• 2 lemons
• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
• 4 stalks celery, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour

Directions:

To make the brown chicken stock:

Preheat your oven to 450.

Mix 1 of the onions and the tomato paste, then lay the onions out on a sheet pan. Drizzle the onions with a little olive oil so they won’t stick to the pan. Rest the chicken bones on top of the onions

Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove the bones and onions from the oven and put into a soup pot with the broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer for an hour or more. This broth will last a few days in the refrigerator and it can be frozen.

To make the chicken and the gravy:

Preheat your oven to 350.

Coat your chicken in olive oil and then sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken. Halve and squeeze both lemons over the chicken and put them in the cavity of the chicken.

Arrange the vegetables on a non-glass baking sheet and rest the chicken on top. Put the chicken in the oven until it has reached an internal temperature of at least 163 and remove from the oven. Cooking times vary by chicken, but expect that a 2-3 pound chicken will roast at least 90 minutes.

When the chicken is ready, set it aside to rest. Get out a high sided skillet or a soup pot and melt the butter in it. Then add the flour and mix until you have a nice paste.

Finally, take your sheet pan and dump everything into the skillet along with your brown stock. Stir or whisk until the flour/butter mixture has dissolved in the liquid. Continue stirring until thick.

Eat the gravy. You can eat the chicken, it’s pretty good, too.