Country Style Chicken Gravy
If you've ever been to a diner and had biscuits and gravy, or chicken fried something or other and gravy, you've probably been as disappointed as I have. All you taste is a bland sauce that has a raw flour taste. Making this gravy will change all of your thoughts about this type of gravy. It's superb.
If you've ever been to a diner and had biscuits and gravy, or chicken fried something or other and gravy, you've probably been as disappointed as I have. All you taste is a bland sauce that has a raw flour taste. Making this gravy will change all of your thoughts about this type of gravy. It's superb.
- Carbohydrate 18.8160712641107 g
- Cholesterol 11.2000000094679 mg
- Fat 19.6091102201134 g
- Fiber 0.6463878053774 g
- Protein 8.44039589095867 g
- Saturated Fat 2.66799978209464 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (346g)
- Sodium 1136.51639866853 mg
- Sugar 18.1696834587333 g
- Trans Fat 0.571295515961044 g
- Calories 296 calories
Step-by-step
- Slice the onion lengthwise, and place in a pot over medium / high heat.
- Slice the garlic while the onion is cooking. When the onion is about 1/2 done, add the garlic.
- Add the blacken, stir up it up well, and cook another minute or 2.
- Make the Roux: Add the 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, and then the flour. When adding the flour, I put in about 1/3, stir it in, then another 1/3, then another. If the Roux has gotten too thick, just add a little more oil. Let this cook about 5 minutes so that the raw taste of the flour cooks out. When the Roux just begins to color, it's time to add the liquid.
- Add the wine, stir it in, then add 2 cups of the broth. The gravy is probably too thick, so add just enough milk to get it to a fairly thick "gravy" consistency. Taste for salt, pepper, and blacken and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. You'll probably find that the gravy will thicken up a bit more while it's cooking. Just add a little more milk to thin it down a little, and taste again for salt, pepper, and blacken.
- This sauce goes real well with any type of chicken, or chicken fried anything like Chicken Fried Pork Loin.
A standard ingredient list outlines what goes into the pot, but omits the thermal mechanics required to transform raw pantry staples into a cohesive sauce. Without proper heat control, oil and flour separate, and starches clump.
Building this base demands a heavy-bottomed pot, preferably cast iron or enameled cast iron, which distributes medium-high heat evenly across the base to prevent scorching the alliums. When incorporating the flour into the oil, add it in three distinct increments. This staged addition allows the lipids to coat every starch granule evenly, preventing the formation of stubborn lumps. Cook this mixture for precisely five minutes over moderate heat. This duration is chemically necessary to break down the complex starches that cause a raw, pasty flavor.
Deglazing with white wine introduces acidity that cuts through the rich fats, while the subsequent addition of chicken stock builds depth. As the liquid reduces over low heat for fifteen minutes, monitor the viscosity visually rather than relying on a thermometer. The sauce is finished when it coats the back of a metal spoon thickly and leaves a temporary cleared path when a finger is drawn through it. If the reduction becomes overly viscous, thin it incrementally with splashes of cold milk until the desired drape is restored.
For cooks lacking white wine, a dry vermouth or an equal measure of chicken stock spiked with a splash of white wine vinegar provides the necessary acid balance without altering the foundational structure of the roux.
