SIMPLE CHICKEN GRAVY RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Empty contents of stuffing box, both the bread crumb and seasoning envelopes, into a medium bowl.
• Add hot water and butter; stir to mix.
• Add chopped water chestnuts, onion and poultry seasoning, mix thoroughly and set aside.
• Check inside the chicken for giblets, remove and set aside.
• Rinse chicken inside and out with cold running water.
• Dry thoroughly inside and out with paper towel.
• Sprinkle salt and fresh ground pepper inside the cavity and all over the outside.
• Place chicken in a roaster.
• Loosely pack the stuffing mix into the main cavity and any left into the neck cavity folding the skin over it.
• If necessary secure the neck skin with a pick.
• Take a length of kitchen string and tie the ends of the legs as close together as possible.
• Rub the butter all over the outside of the chicken making sure to cover the whole outside surface.
• Take two lengths of aluminum foil, place one piece over the chicken lengthwise, take the other piece and place it sideways over the first piece.
• Tuck the foil tightly to the chicken so it is touching the bottom of the roaster but not under the bird.
• If the bird is not completely covered (except for the underside) Use a third piece to finish covering.
• Place the roaster on the middle rack of the oven and roast at 400f degrees for 15 minutes.
• Reduce the heat after 15 minutes to 350f degrees and roast for approximately 2 hours.
• At about 2 hours, carefully lift the aluminum foil and poke the chicken with a fork, if the juice runs clear, remove the foil and roast a further 30 minutes to brown the skin to golden.
• If the juice is not yet clear, roast a little longer and check again.
• Once the chicken is well browned, remove to platter, cover with foil and let rest.
• In the meantime, if you wish to make giblet gravy, take the giblets (and neck if it's there), place in a saucepan, cover with water, add salt and pepper and a little poultry seasoning if you wish, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least an hour.
• Remove to strainer, reserving liquid.
• Chop the giblets and pick any meat off neck bones, add to a blender and add the liquid.
• Blend to liquefy level, add 3 or 4 tablespoons flour or corn starch and blend to mix well.
• Pour off as much fat as possible from the roaster, take a whisk and move up any bits and pieces of stuffing/chicken stuck to the bottom, remove any large pieces of skin, add the giblet mix from the blender, whisk around; place in 450°F to 500°F degree oven until bubbly, about 10 minutes; add a small amount of hot water if necessary if it is too thick until it is the consistancy you want, cook another 5 minutes.
• (We like ours very thick) Whisk and pour into gravy boat and serve hot with the roast chicken.
• Gravy can also be made without the giblets, just whisk up the brown bits in the roaster and add 1 cup of hot water and make a slurry of cold water and either flour or corn starch, add the slurry and whisk, cook the same as above adding a little more water if necessary.

Steps:

• GET AHEAD 1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. 2. Peel the onions, wash the carrots, then roughly chop with the celery and bacon. Put the veg, bay leaves, sage, rosemary and star anise into a sturdy high-sided roasting tray, then scatter the chopped bacon on top. 3. Break the chicken wings open, bash with a rolling pin to help release extra flavour as they cook, then add to the tray. Drizzle with oil, season with sea salt and black pepper, toss, then cook for 1 hour, or until tender. 4. Remove the tray from the oven and transfer to a low heat on the hob. Really grind and mash everything with a potato masher, scraping up all the goodness from the base of the tray (the longer you let it fry, the darker your gravy will be). If you want to add sherry or port, now’s the time to do so; just leave it to cook away for a few minutes. 5. Gradually stir in the flour, then pour in 2 litres of boiling kettle water. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until thickened and reduced, stirring occasionally. 6. When the gravy is the consistency of your liking, pour it through a coarse sieve into a large bowl, pushing all the goodness through with the back of a spoon. Taste and season to perfection, cool to room temperature, then pour into containers or bags and pop into the fridge or freezer, ready to finish off on Christmas Day. ON THE DAY 1. If frozen, take the gravy out to defrost when your turkey goes into the oven. 2. When the turkey’s perfectly cooked, remove it to a platter to rest for up to 2 hours, covered with a double layer of tin foil and a clean tea towel. Skim away most of the fat from the tray, cool, and place into a jar in the fridge for tasty cooking another day. 3. Pour your Get-ahead gravy into the tray with the rest of the turkey juices. Bring to the boil over the hob and scrape up all those sticky bits from the base. Have a taste, then stir in the Cranberry sauce to balance the flavours. 4. Once your gravy is piping hot, carefully strain through a coarse sieve into a pan, then leave it on the lowest heat until you’re ready to serve. Skim away any fat that rises to the top, and add any extra resting juices from the turkey before serving.