BEST CHICKEN GRAVY RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the flour, onion powder, paprika and cayenne pepper in a shallow dish. Season with salt and black pepper and stir to combine. 
• Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Pat the chicken dry and place in the flour-spice mixture, turning to dust on both sides. Shake off the excess. Add the coated chicken to the hot oil and sear until brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate. 
• Add the onions to the oil remaining in the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Season the onions with salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 45 to 60 seconds. 
• Tip the remaining flour mixture into the onions and stir to coat and combine. Stir in the warmed chicken stock and increase the heat to medium high. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat until the mixture simmers. Add the reserved chicken with any accumulated juices, nestling it into the onions, and the thyme and bay leaf. Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook until the juices of the chicken run clear when pierced with a knife and the temperature reads 165 degrees F when measured with an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and black pepper. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Serve the chicken immediately.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Have a shelf ready in the middle of the oven without any shelves above it.
• Scatter 1 roughly chopped onion and 2 roughly chopped carrots over the base of a roasting tin that fits the whole 1 ½ kg chicken, but doesn’t swamp it.
• Season the cavity of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, then stuff with 2 lemon halves and a small bunch of thyme, if using.
• Sit the chicken on the vegetables, smother the breast and legs all over with 25g softened butter, then season the outside with salt and pepper.
• Place in the oven and leave, undisturbed, for 1 hr 20 mins – this will give you a perfectly roasted chicken. To check, pierce the thigh with a skewer and the juices should run clear.
• Carefully remove the tin from the oven and, using a pair of tongs, lift the chicken to a dish or board to rest for 15-20 mins. As you lift the dish, let any juices from the chicken pour out of the cavity into the roasting tin.
• While the chicken is resting, make the gravy. Place the roasting tin over a low flame, then stir in 1 tbsp flour and sizzle until you have a light brown, sandy paste.
• Gradually pour in 250ml chicken stock, stirring all the time, until you have a thickened sauce.
• Simmer for 2 mins, using a wooden spoon to stir, scraping any sticky bits from the tin.
• Strain the gravy into a small saucepan, then simmer and season to taste. When you carve the bird, add any extra juices to the gravy.