This Chicken and Gravy Recipe is made with a whole roasted chicken, then an easy gravy made with the drippings for a savory and comforting dinner.
Secret confession: Making gravy has scared me for a very, very long time, mostly because I witnessed countless Thanksgivings with my dad cursing loudly at the gravy gods after he had botched it. I must've internalized that gravy is something very difficult to make and learned to shirk my gravy responsibilities on other family members over the years. I'll need therapy for this later in life.
After much soul searching, I'm pleased to report that gravy isn't as difficult as I had originally thought. It's Southern comfort food and its finest, especially when the chicken and gravy is over mashed potatoes. That's good clean down home cookin' if you ask me
This chicken and gravy recipe is the best because it requires very little hands-on time and is full of flavor thanks to the drippings from the chicken. It's an old fashioned chicken and gravy recipe, with no gravy packets required. There's nothing fancy about making a whole roasted chicken, so don't let that intimidate you either. It's a great meal to make when you're home on a Sunday for a couple of hours. Like most of my recipes, the oven does most of the work.
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If you couldn't tell, I've been on a comfort food kick lately. I'd like to swim in chicken gravy over mashed potatoes and forget about the world for a bit. This is my ideal heaven right now. Come join me.
Different Types of Gravy
There are a few different types of gravy. It can be a little confusing. Let's start with the basics:
- Brown gravy - This chicken and gravy recipe is also known as brown gravy. This means it's gravy made with meat drippings. Brown gravy is flavorful and rich thanks to the fat and browned bits from the searing and/or roasting process.
- Country gravy or white gravy or sausage gravy - There are a lot of names for this kind of gravy that's slathered over biscuits or sausage in the South. Typically it's made with butter, flour, and milk (hence, the white color).
- Sawmill gravy - This is another type of white gravy but typically made with cornmeal so it has a bit of a gritty of a texture (not to be confused with the Griddy). Hence, the name like sawdust in a sawmill.
- Onion gravy - No animals were harmed to make this gravy. The non-traditional roux is made with onions instead.
- Tomato gravy - Perfect for the height of tomato season, tomato gravy can be slathered on scrambled eggs or biscuits. It's usually made with bacon fat, fresh tomatoes, butter, flour, and stock.
If you like this recipe, you'll probably also want to check out the Dutch Oven Pot Roast or the Dutch Oven Beef Stew. Both of these are cold weather comfort food recipes that are perfect for a weekend dinner.
Jump to:
- Different Types of Gravy
- Ingredients to Make Chicken and Gravy
- Key to Gravy: The Drippings
- How to Make Chicken and Gravy
- Common Gravy Mishaps
- How to Make Gravy from a Rotisserie Chicken
- Storage & Reheating
- FAQ
- Sides to Serve with Your Chicken & Gravy
- Other Favorite Dinner Recipes
- More Comfort Food Favorites
- Looking for More Side Dishes?
- Chicken and Gravy Recipe
Ingredients to Make Chicken and Gravy
I've divided the ingredients you'll need to make chicken and gravy into groups: one to make the whole roasted chicken and the other for making the gravy.
For the whole roasted chicken:
- whole chicken -- Aim for a 4-5 pound bird. You can certainly roast a smaller chicken, but make sure you adjust the cook time so you don't have a dry chicken on your hands.
- lemon - A bit of freshness to the chicken. It pairs nicely with the rosemary.
- olive oil - This ensures the chicken skin stays crispy and also used to coat the vegetables underneath the chicken so they don't burn.
- garlic - Will roast both in and out of the turkey.
- rosemary - Stuff the turkey with sprigs of rosemary for added flavor. If you don't have fresh rosemary, you can skip.
- carrots - adds so much flavor to your gravy. Bonus is you also get to eat these vegetables!
- onions - Also for both inside and outside of the chicken.
- salt + pepper
For the gravy:
- chicken drippings - This is really what gives the gravy its rich flavor. This is why you also put some effort into seasoning the turkey and stuffing it with vegetables, because all of those vegetables and such will add flavor.
- chicken stock - You'll need to supplement with around 1 ¾ cups of chicken stock.
- butter - for richness
- flour - Needed to make the roux to thicken
- salt + pepper - Add both to taste. Be very generous with the pepper. Under peppered gravy is a crime.
The recipe card below will show you the exact quantities of each ingredient as well as detailed instructions!
Key to Gravy: The Drippings
After roasting your chicken, you will be left with the most magical liquid at the bottom of the pan, made with chicken juices and fat, browned bits, and all of the flavor from the vegetables and lemon. This is called drippings.
Don't panic when you tilt the pan and only have about ¼ cup of drippings. This is absolutely enough to make delicious gravy. You will supplement by adding more chicken stock to get to two full cups of liquid.
How to Make Chicken and Gravy
While the chicken and gravy recipe looks like it takes some time, there's really only about 15-20 minutes of hands-on time needed to making everything. This makes the recipe a perfect one for Sunday supper.
- Step 1: Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Generously sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, and lemon zest. Cover with olive oil.
- Step 2: Stuff the chicken with some of the onions, garlic and lemon slices. Tie the legs and tuck the wings in (optional).
- Step 3: Toss remaining garlic, carrots, and onion with olive oil and place in the bottom of a cast iron pan (forget about the baby potatoes if you're serving over mashed potatoes). Place whole chicken on top of vegetables. Do not cover the chicken.
- Step 4: Roast for 45 minutes. Take chicken out, carefully tip pan to one side to spoon liquid from bottom of pan onto top of the chicken. This will help your skin get crispy. Roast 30-45 more minutes or until chicken gets to an internal temperature of 165˚F.
- Step 5: Spoon or baste the liquid (drippings) from the bottom of the pan and place in a large measuring cup. Fill the remainder of the measuring cup with chicken stock to make two cups of liquid in total.
- Step 6: Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add the flour and whisk to combine.
- Step 7: Slowly add half of the chicken liquid, whisking constantly. Slowly add the rest of the liquid. Continue whisking on medium heat until it reaches your desired consistency (approximately 4-5 minutes).
- Step 8: Shred the chicken while the chicken is still warm with two forks or by placing the meat (no bones!) in the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Serve chicken and gravy over mashed potatoes with the carrots and onion.
Common Gravy Mishaps
Have no fear. We can all encounter some gravy disasters every now and again. Here are some common gravy mistakes and how you can fix them. Gravy is actually really resilient, despite what my father at Thanksgiving thinks. Just kidding, Dad...I know you're going to have something to say about this.
- Gravy is lumpy -- Make sure you are constantly whisking. Whisk until your hands are tired. That's when you know you're doing it right.
- Gravy is too thin -- The gravy needs to cook longer. Your heat could also be too low (but don't put it on high). You can also add a bit more flour, one teaspoon at a time.
- Gravy is too thick -- Add a splash of chicken stock and keep whisking. Make sure the heat isn't on high.
- Gravy is bland -- This is likely because you didn't have a lot of drippings to use. Add salt to taste and lots of fresh cracked pepper. An obscene amount. You could also add fresh herbs like thyme.
- Gravy is broken or greasy -- This happens when the oil separates from the gravy, likely because you have too much fat (which really should never be the case with a whole chicken). If you do find yourself in a pickle, add a bit more flour (a teaspoon at a time) or add the gravy to a food processor to emulsify.
You can read more about gravy mishaps from Good Housekeeping.
How to Make Gravy from a Rotisserie Chicken
If you're too worn slap out to roast a whole chicken, consider making gravy from a rotisserie chicken. It's totally possible when you need gravy in a pinch.
- Collect your drippings from the bottom of the rotisserie chicken bag. You'll want to try to to get around ¼ cup of liquid.
- If your rotisserie chicken is cold, the drippings will turn into a gel-like substance. Just heat the gelled drippings in a small pot over medium heat until the fat breaks down again. From there, pour whatever liquid you can get into a 2-cup measuring cup.
- Fill the remainder of the measuring cup with chicken stock to make two full cups of liquid.
- Follow the rest of the directions as written!
Such a perfect hack.
Storage & Reheating
To store: Store the chicken and the gravy in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The chicken and gravy will stay fresh for 3-4 days.
To reheat: I find the best way to reheat is to place the chicken and gravy in a saucepan over medium heat. You will likely need to add a splash or two of chicken stock to loosen the gravy back up.
FAQ
When the internal temperature of the meat is at 165˚F or above on a meat thermometer. Depending on the size of your chicken, this could take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half.
I either carve the chicken with a knife like I would a turkey, separating the dark meat from the white meat or shred the whole chicken with two forks while it's still hot. You could also put all of the picked-over meat in the bowl of a stand mixture and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. A stand mixer will shred it finely.
You absolutely could use 2 cups of chicken stock. The gravy won't be nearly as flavorful or rich though without the fat drippings.
Yes, you could. I would strongly suggest using a crockpot that also has a searing function though. That's how you're going to guarantee those good drippings.
Sides to Serve with Your Chicken & Gravy
Cleary, you need chicken and gravy over fluffy mashed potatoes. That's a given. Some folks love chicken and gravy over rice. Southern buttermilk biscuits are one of my favorite sides, too.
I also like a small side salad to balance out the richness of the chicken and gravy. Try this Apple and Candied Pecan salad Another roasted vegetable would be delightful, like Purple Cauliflower for a beautiful pop of color.
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Looking for More Side Dishes?
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Chicken and Gravy Recipe
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 4-5 lb whole chicken gizzards and insides removed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lemon zested then cut into quarters
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 8 cloves garlic peeled
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 1 ½ onions cut into large slices
- 4 large carrots
For the gravy:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- chicken drippings
- 2 cups chicken stock including reserved juices from pan
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425˚F. Position your rack so it's lowest setting.
- Prepare chicken by taking out giblets and/or neck. Pat dry with paper towels. Generously put salt and pepper on the chicken, then generously coat with lemon zest and half of the olive oil. Set aside.
- Put half of the garlic cloves, a whole chopped onion and carrots in a cast iron skillet. Toss with remaining olive oil and generously salt and pepper.
- Stuff the inside of the chicken with remaining onions, garlic cloves, rosemary, and cut up lemon. Tie the legs back with baking twine optional). Place chicken on top of the bed of vegetables.
- Roast for 45 minutes. Take chicken out of oven, tip one side of the skillet over so the juices flow to one side. Spoon juice from the bottom of the pan over the top of the chicken.
- Place skillet back in the oven for another 40-45 minutes or until the thickest part of the chicken reads 165˚F on a meat thermometer (make sure the thermometer isn't touching bone).
- Baste or spoon the remaining juices from the pan (drippings) and place in a large measuring cup. Top off measuring cup with chicken stock until you have 2 cups of liquid.
- In a small saucepan, heat unsalted butter on medium heat until melted. Add flour and whisk until combined.
- Slowly add half of the chicken stock mixture while whisking vigorously until there are no lumps. Add the remaining liquid and continue to whisk until you've reached your desired thickness. Add salt and pepper to taste. Gravy will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Serve carved or shredded chicken and gravy over a bed of fluffy mashed potatoes and the carrots and onions.
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