Learn the 'easy method' that all professionally trained chef's use to turn an ordinary roasted meat recipe into a fabulous, fragrant gourmet delight!
Printable copy of recipe below
Whether it's a simple gravy or a complicated gourmet experiment,
it all begins with an expertly crafted gravy.
Top notch chef's call it the French roux, and it's how they quickly and easily turn an ordinary meat dish into a fabulous gourmet delight!
In This Recipe You Will Discover How to Bring Ordinary Gravy Based Dishes From Good to Fantastic!
Meat recipes smothered in delicious soupy gravies, if done correctly, all begin with the humble little French roux.
All chef's begin their extravagantly saucy dishes with the humble gravy, as an expertly crafted gravy is a thickened sauce made with the pan drippings from a roasted peice of meat or, when pan drippings are not available, from a good quality stock or broth.
The thickener in this recipe is the beloved and traditional French Roux. The technique highlighted here is the very same professional technique that is the standard in almost all gourmet sauces and soups. This method will give any dish an amazingly smooth and durable sauces that will showcase knowledge and mastery in the kitchen.
This, easy to learn, technique can transform a good (but ordinary) recipe into an amazing meat dish smothered in 'ooo la la' fabulous French sauces, not to mention that this technique is the base for creating creamy soups that taste and feel deliciously complicated, and way more gourmet.The technique highlighted in this gravy recipe is the very same professional method that is the standard in many sauce recipes.
Why a French roux, why not just dump in a drizzle, which is an ole-fashioned flour and water mix?
Not only is the French roux way more delicious, because it cooks the flour and butter over a medium high heat, transforming it into a fragrantly nutty mixture, but the roux technique actually fries the flour in a very particular way that lifts its common taste into a flavor-bouquet that cannot be obtained through any other method.
A well-done roux creates strength. Other sauces, soups, and gravies will invariably and quickly fall apart, separating into liquid and solids. The roux, however, will not fall apart, breaking up into its elements. The humble roux has amazing staying power that will maintain the complexity of your wonderful meal, until the very last morsel is devoured.
Roasted Chicken & Potatoes
Ingredients:
◦ 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
◦ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
◦ 6 - 8 pieces of chicken, dark meat with skin on
◦ New potatoes, amount and type according to preference
◦ Mushrooms, amount and type according to preference
◦ Meat drippings from the roasted chicken pieces
◦ ½ cup sour cream or more, as desired (and can be exchanged for heavy whipping cream)
Optional Ingredients:
◦ Pepper, to taste
◦ Salt, to avoid over salting, do not add until the gravy is finished
◦ Garlic and onion powders
◦ Paprika, smokey or regular
◦ Goya granulated chicken bouillon packets
◦ Thyme, parsley and/or other spices, as desired
◦ ½ teaspoon ground unprepared mustard
◦ 1 teaspoon prepared mustard, yellow or brown
◦ ¼ cup white wine
Please read and understand the direction listed below before beginning this recipe.
Method:
Roasting the chicken:
Place each chicken piece skin side up in the roasting pan. Please note that how the chicken peices are set in the roasting pan is how they will later appear when placed on plates. With skin side up, neatly tuck any extra loose skin neatly underneathe each peice of chicken.
Add spices to 2 cups of water: one packet of Goya chicken bouillon, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, plus pepper and paprika to taste, stir well.
Pour the 2 cups of spiced water in the roasting pan. If possible, avoid pouring the water directly over the chicken pieces.
Lastly, combine 1/4 teaspoon each of: pepper, paprika, and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Mix these 3 spices together, then lightly and evenly distribute this spice combination over the chicken skin. Once the skin is roasted and crispy, these added spices greatly enhancing the flavor.
With the oven at 350F, roast the chicken for approximately 50-60 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked through. Do not over cook.
If roasting potatoes, place small cleaned and uncooked potatoes scattered in the roasting pan in the final 30 - 40 minutes before the chicken is done. If including mushrooms with this recipe, prepare and cook the mushrooms outside of the roasting process, adding them to the sauce just before serving.
Creating the gravy:
Over medium to high heat, melt butter. Tip: Also adding a few teaspoons of olive oil to the butter protects the butter from burning.
Add flour to the melted butter. Usually the correct ratio of butter to flour is the same amount of each.
Stir roux continuously until it grandually becomes a light to medium caramel color and takes on a delicious nutty aroma.
Turn the heat completely off and carefully pour the liquid over the roux mixture. Making sure to pour ALL THE MEAT DRIPPINGS AT THE SAME TIME WHILE CONTINUOUSLY STIRRING VIGOROUSLY. Please note: According to preference, ¼ cup white wine can also be added.
Immediately, when the liquid touches the roux, the roux will respond by fluffing up. If the fluffed up roux receives enough liquid and is being vigorously stirred, it will immediately become a wonderful soft smooth gravy (thin) mixture. If the roux does not receive enough liquid as it passes through this fluffy stage, the roux will respond by becoming lumpy. Once these lumps form it takes several minutes of vigorous stirring to elemenate them and it may not be possible to eleminate all the lumps. The short answer is to pour all the liquid into the roux at the same time and stir vigorously for approximately 10 seconds while the mixture become a thin gravy.
Turn the heat back on and continue to stir the thin gravy mixture.
At this point in the process it is time to add any spices, as desired, and PRECOOKED potatoes, if potatoes were not added and roasted prior. Do Not add uncooked mushrooms, as the abundance of liquid that mushrooms release while cooking, would off-set the ratios in the gravy, creating a gravy that is too thin. Please note: This is NOT the time to add any type of dairy products. The time to add anything dairy will be once the gravy has thickened and is finished cooking.
While continuing to stir, the gravy mixture will slowly thicken and become smooth and creamy.
Once the gravy is thick and creamy PRECOOKED mushrooms can be added as the gravy is ready to serve. This is also the time to add the sour cream, stirring well to combine. Please note: The sour cream can be exchanged for heavy whipping cream, as desired.
