How to Make Gravy. An Easy and Delicious Chicken Gravy Recipe - Foolproof!

Everyone should know how to roast a chicken. It's about as easy as cooking gets and it gives even apprehensive cooks at least one "special occasion" dinner recipe for the repertoire.

But to make a beautiful golden browned roast chicken and to omit the gravy is tragic, and so just as everyone needs to know how to roast a chicken, everyone needs to know how to make a very simple gravy.

Now, there are many different ways to produce a gravy and an equal number of strong opinions about the "right way" to do it. I do not claim that this is the only or even best way (although it is good) but it is a very simple technique that produces a very tasty gravy – and for most people, that's good enough.

How to Make Chicken Gravy

1. After you have finished roasting your chicken, take the bird out of your roasting dish and set it aside.
2. Pour off all but about 2 Tbls of fat/drippings from the roasting pan and set it on the stove top, on an element set to medium.
3. Pour in about 1 ½ cups of liquid. Water will work fine here, although chicken stock is even better.
4. As the liquid comes to a boil, scrape the bottom of the pan to release all the browned bits (these are what flavor the gravy). Take your time and try to get as much as you can.
5. Once your liquid is boiling and you've scraped up all the brown juicy bits, turn the heat down to low.
6. Take a Tbls of butter and a Tbls of flour and mush it all together until combined.
7. Throw that butter/flour mixture into the gravy and turn the heat back up to medium, stirring all the while.
8. Keep stirring the gravy until the butter has disappeared and the gravy has thickened (the flour in the butter thickens the gravy) – this should only take a minute or two.
9. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary.
10. Strain the gravy (if desired – I never do).

That's it – a simple recipe for a tasty gravy – Enjoy!

Although this is a recipe for chicken gravy, it works well for any bird. To make a roast beef gravy, simply substitute beef stock for the chicken stock in the recipe and proceed following the same instructions.

Once you get the hang of making gravy, you can experiment with adding extra flavorings, such as wine for deglazing or fresh herbs – although I like the simple version best of all.