Best Slow Roast Chicken With Homemade Gravy Recipes

SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• Pat the chicken dry inside and out with paper towels, and let sit at room temperature to take the chill off, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, position an oven rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 450 degrees F. Put a rack in a small roasting pan.
• Season the cavity of the chicken generously with salt and pepper, and stuff it with the thyme and garlic. Tie the legs together with butcher's twine. Season the outside with salt (generously) and a few grinds of pepper, and place the chicken breast-side up on the rack. (Seasoning the chicken when on the rack could result in gravy that's too salty.)
• Roast the chicken until the skin is golden brown and crispy and a thermometer inserted in the deepest part of the thigh registers 165 to 170 degrees F, depending on how you like your dark meat, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let the chicken rest on the rack for a few minutes, then carefully tip it forward to drain all the collected juices into the roasting pan. Discard the thyme and garlic. Let the chicken rest on a cutting board while you make the gravy. (To transfer the chicken easily, hold a wooden spoon handle in the cavity with one hand and use the other hand to lift the chicken with tongs.)
• Remove the rack from the pan, and pour the pan drippings into a small bowl. Skim off 2 tablespoons of the fat, and stir them into the flour and 2 tablespoons water in another small bowl. Heat the roasting pan over medium-high heat, add the wine, scrape up any browned bits and simmer until the wine reduces by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken stock and any remaining pan drippings, bring to a simmer, add the flour mixture and whisk constantly until the liquid thickens into a gravy, 2 to 3 minutes. Season the gravy with salt and pepper.
• Remove the butcher's twine from the chicken. Snip off the wingtips using kitchen shears; reserve to make stock. Remove the leg quarters by slicing between the thigh and the body, then finding the hip joints near the backbone and slicing through them. Separate the drumsticks and thighs, and transfer to a platter. Sit the carcass upright; snip out the backbone and reserve it to make stock. Lay the breast skin-side up and slice in half through the breastbone. Separate the wings and breast, and transfer to the platter. Serve the chicken with the warm gravy. Reserve the carcass to make stock.

SLOW-ROAST CHICKEN WITH HOMEMADE GRAVY

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3 and put the chicken in a roasting tin. Put the butter into a small bowl and add the herbs and plenty of seasoning. Grate in the zest from the lemon and mash everything together with the butter using a fork. Rub this over the chicken breasts, legs and wings, then push the whole grated lemon into the big cavity of the chicken. Pour half the stock into the tin. Use a large sheet of tin foil (or a couple of smaller pieces) to cover the chicken and scrunch together the foil along the edges of the tin so the whole thing is sealed. Put in the oven and set your timer for 2 hrs.
• Carefully remove the foil from the chicken, increase oven to 220C/200C fan/ gas 7, and put the chicken back in for another 30 mins. If you're making the Crunchy roast potatoes (see 'Goes well with'), put them in now, under the chicken. After 30 mins, take the chicken out of the oven and lift it onto a serving dish (move the potatoes up). Snugly cover the chicken with foil and set aside while you make the gravy.
• Tip the chicken juices and stock from the tin into a jug. Put the tin over a medium heat on your hob and use a wooden spoon to stir in the flour and Marmite, if using, with a splash of the juices to make a paste. If you want, spoon the fat off the top of the chicken juices in the jug, then gradually stir this into the tin to make a smooth gravy. Add as much of the rest of the stock as you need to make a good gravy, then serve with the chicken.

ROAST CHICKEN PAN GRAVY

Steps:

• Pour fat from drippings into a bowl and reserve. Whisk flour into remaining drippings left in pan; mixture will seem dry. Add 2 tablespoons reserved fat, or as needed, to the drippings mixture to combine with flour.
• Place pan of drippings mixture over low heat and toast flour until light brown and mixture gives off a nutty fragrance, about 5 minutes.
• Drizzle about 1/3 cup cold chicken stock at a time into pan drippings, whisking each addition of stock into mixture until thoroughly combined. Continue whisking, scraping any browned pan drippings from the bottom of the pan into gravy; bring to a simmer. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until gravy is thick and flour has combined with the liquid, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Adjust thickness of gravy; if too thick, whisk in a little more stock. If gravy is too thin, continue to simmer, whisking constantly, until reduced and thickened, about 10 more minutes. For the smoothest texture, strain gravy before serving.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Season the cavity of the chicken with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the lemon, herbs, and half of the carrots, onions, and celery. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and fold the wing tips under the back. Place the remaining carrots, onion, and celery in the center of a roasting pan just large enough to accommodate the chicken. Brush the entire chicken with the butter; season with salt and pepper. Set the bird breast-side up on top of the vegetables.
• Roast the chicken for 45 minutes. Then increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F., cooking until an instant-read thermometer stuck into the chicken thigh registers 160 degrees F., about 15 minutes more. Tip the chicken so the juices run into the pan. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and loosely tent with foil while making the gravy.
• Discard the vegetables and pour the fat and juices in the pan into a small bowl. Transfer about 2 tablespoons of the fat back into the pan, skim and discard the rest. Add the roasting juices to the broth. Place the pan directly on the burner over medium-high heat. Scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the broth and continue to stir. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Pour the sauce into a gravy boat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Carve the chicken and serve with gravy.