CHICKEN IN RED GRAVY RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. To make your gravy When you come to make your gravy, your chicken will be covered and resting and you’ll have your tray of chicken juices and vegetable trivet in front of you. Using a spoon, carefully remove 90 per cent of the hot fat from the tray by angling it away from yourself and scooping off the fatty layer that settles on top.
  2. Put the tray back on the hob over a high heat. Add the flour, stir it around and, holding the tray steady with a tea towel in one hand, use a potato masher to mash all the veg to a pulp – don’t worry if it’s lumpy. You can rip the wings off the chicken and break them up into the tray to add more flavour at this point.
  3. When everything is mixed and mashed up, add the alcohol to give a little fragrance before you add your stock (the alcohol will cook away). Keep it over the heat and let it boil for a few minutes. Pour the stock into the tray, or add 1 litre of hot water. Bring everything in the pan to the boil, scraping all the goodness from the bottom of the pan as you go. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until you’ve achieved the gravy consistency you’re looking for.
  4. To serve your gravy Get yourself a large jug, bowl or pan and put a coarse sieve over it. Pour your gravy through the sieve, using a ladle to really push all the goodness through. Discard any veg or meat left behind. At this point you’ve got a really cracking gravy, and you can either serve it straight away or put it back on the heat to simmer and thicken up.

Steps:

• To make the chicken fried steak, cut the steak into 4 evenly sized pieces. Pound each piece with a meat tenderizer to about a 1/4-inch thickness and almost doubled in surface area. Lightly season the steaks with salt and pepper.
• For the breading, whisk together the flour, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, and cayenne. Beat the egg and milk in a bowl wide enough to accommodate the steaks. Coat both sides of one piece of steak with the flour mixture, dip into the egg mixture, dredge in flour again, and place on a second large plate. Repeat with remaining steaks.
• Preheat the oven to 200°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm 1 inch of oil to 300°F. Working in batches, gently place the steaks in the skillet in a single layer. There will be a lot of popping and hissing, so be careful. After 2 to 3 minutes, or when juices start bubbling out of the top of the steak, use tongs to gently flip the steaks and continue to cook until lightly browned, about 3 more minutes. Transfer the steaks to the prepared baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining steaks.
• To make the chile gravy, reserve 1/4 cup of oil from the skillet, then drain the rest and wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. (If your oil is too burnt tasting, you can use fresh oil or bacon grease.) Return the oil to the skillet and warm over medium-low heat. Add the onion and while occasionally stirring, cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
• Whisk in the flour to the skillet until everything is well combined. Cook for a minute or until just beginning to brown, then stir in the broth, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and black pepper. While stirring, cook until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the jalapeño pickle juice then taste and adjust seasonings, adding salt if needed.
• Remove the steaks from the oven. Turn on the broiler, position a rack 6 inches from the heating element, and place each steak on an oven-proof plate. Evenly pour over the steaks the gravy, then top with the cheese. Slide the plates under the broiler (depending on the size of your oven, you may need to do this in batches), and cook until the cheese has melted, about 1-2 minutes. Garnish the steaks with pickled jalapeños. Serve immediately, with refried beans and rice, if you like.