Roast Chicken With Natural Gravy Recipe

How to make it

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• Remove giblets from chickens.
• Check inside cavities to make sure they have been well cleaned.
• Reserve giblets for other use.
• Season the insides of the chickens with salt and pepper.
• Truss the chickens.
• Rub the outside of the chickens with oil or butter (butter promotes faster browning).
• Season the skin with salt and pepper, as it will be served with the meat.
• Place the Mirepoix in a roasting pan.
• Place a rack over the Mirepoix, and place the chickens breast down on the rack.
• Place the chickens in an oven preheated to 450°F .
• After 15 minutes (not longer), turn the heat down to 325°F.
• When the chickens have been in the oven for 45-60 minutes, turn them breast side up.
• Baste with the fat in the roasting pan and finish roasting.
• Total cooking time is about 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove the chickens from the roasting pan and hold them in a warm place until ready to serve.
• Set the roasting pan on the range over high heat and brown the Mirepoix well, but do not let it burn.
• Pour off the fat.
• Add the stock to deglaze the pan.
• Boil until the gravy is reduced by about one-third.
• Degrease carefully. ( See image)
• Stir the starch with the cold water or stock.
• Stir it into the gravy.
• Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened.
• Strain into a bain-marie, using a china cap lined with cheesecloth.
• Season carefully with salt and pepper.
• Quarter the chickens, or carve them as shown in the images.
• Serve a quarter chicken with 2 oz gravy, or amounts of your preference
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• VARIATIONS:
• Roast Herbed Chicken
• Place 3-4 parsley stems and a pinch each of tarragon and marjoram in the cavity of each bird.
• After turning the chicken breast up in the roasting pan, rub the skin with chopped parsley, tarragon, and marjoram.
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• Roast Chicken with Gravy
• Save 4 oz of the fat skimmed from the juices and make a blond roux with the fat and 4 oz bread flour.
• Beat the roux into the juices and simmer until thickened.
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• Roast Chicken with Cream Gravy
• Prepare as in basic recipe, but use only 1 1/2 qt chicken stock.
• Boil until reduced to 1 qt and strain.
• Add 1 qt (1L) hot milk and thicken with 8 oz blond roux.
• Finish with 4 fl oz heavy cream.
• ***** The veggies served with this dish are creamy whipped potatoes, glazed root vegetables, roasted garlic cloves, and peas.