# Kicking myself, Best gravy ever!



## AllenOK (Dec 11, 2005)

I've always made gravy this way in the past:

Roast the meat (usually chicken) in a cast iron skillet.  
When done, remove the bird and let it rest on a plate or platter.
Place the skillet over a hot burner and reduce all liquids until the water has completely cooked off.
Caramelize the resulting "fond" with the grease from the roast.
Deglaze the roasting pan with appropriate stock (chicken stock for chicken, etc.).
Stir until all the fond has dissolved into the stock.
Bring to a boil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Strain through a china cap or other strainer into a small saucepan and tighten with cornstarch.

As my family grows, however, so does the amount of food required to feed them.  As a result, I need to start roasting off two chickens (or a small turkey) instead of one 6# bird.  Herein lies my problem.  I don't have a cast iron skillet large enough to handle two birds (or a turkey), nor is my oven big enough to handle two different cast iron skillets.

A couple weeks ago, I did something in desperation.  I had roasted off some chicken legs with garlic cloves, in my MIL's large turkey roaster.  Well, there was some fat and juices from the chicken legs in the pan.  Since the turkey roaster is extremely thin metal that's been enamelled, I don't trust putting it on a burner.  I ended up pouring all the liquids from the pan (my instructors in college would be appalled that I hadn't deglazed the pan first) into a small saucepan, and put it over high heat until it had reduced down until all the water was gone, and proceded with my normal gravy routine.  Actually, it was rather good.

Tonight, my other half, PeppA made a pot roast.  She used the turkey roaster to do this.  I remembered what I had done a couple of weeks ago, and repeated that tonight.  We just ate the resulting gravy, and it's one of the best I've ever made.


----------



## Home chef (Dec 11, 2005)

I have never had a problem putting my thin metal enameled roasting pan over a flame. You just have to be careful to keep stirring since the gravy will burn very easily. In fact, I don't thikn I have ever made gravy in anything else but my roasting pan.


----------



## AllenOK (Dec 11, 2005)

If I had a gas stove, I'd probably try it.  However, I have an electric.  Also, the roasting pan has grooves in the bottom to channel fluids away from the roast.  It's hard to get down into those.


----------

