On Nov 8, 11:13*am, Joseph Littleshoes > wrote:
> Jen wrote:
> > I made a wonderful roasted chicken a couple of weeks ago, and the pan
> > was filled with all the cooking juices from the chicken and veggies
> > that surrounded it. Not wanting to waste this fantastic, flavorful
> > juice, I poured it all in a cup and let it set in the fridge, then
> > skimmed off all the fat. Since I knew I couldn't use it right away, I
> > froze it, along with the leftover chicken meat that I'd pulled from
> > the bone.
> > Here is my question: I want to make a gravy out of these pan
> > drippings, but I *really want to keep it as low fat as possible. How
> > would I go about doing this? The entire reason I skimmed off all the
> > fat was to do something like this but now I'm not sure how to do it
> > without a traditional roux. Is there a way to make a glace' type
> > thing?
> > Would really appreciate any advice...
> > TIA...
> > Jen
>
> Next time don't freeze it. *Once you have it defatted you can add a tiny
> bit of stock or wine or water & bring it to a near boil and then reduce
> the heat and very gently simmer the pan drippings till they are even
> thicker, skim even further if necessary, once you have achieved a thick,
> jelled consistency put in a sealed container just large enough to hold
> it, as little air as possible, keep it as air tight as possible, and
> then use it at 1 tbs. per 1 tbs. of flour and 1 cup of milk or other liquid.
>
> Ordinarily to make a glace de viend one would reduce stock not pan
> drippings, the pan drippings are already highly reduced, but adding a
> bit of wine to the pan drippings and then reducing can be very nice.
>
> But either a traditional glace de viend or highly concentrated pan
> drippings can be used in place of any butter or oil with which to make
> the roux. *Using wine and stock to make the liquid of the sauce is also
> very good.
>
> This is one reason a lot of people roast veggies in the bottom of the
> pan, in the juices (mirepoix?) with their meats, so that when they go to
> use the pan drippings they have the flavors from the veggies in the pan
> drippings. *You pour all the juices & cooked veggies through a sieve or
> filter and squish the veggies to get all their juices into the pan
> drippings. *Add some wine and reduce and skim.
>
> Oh! and to make a typical american 'gravy' use milk instead of wine or
> stock. *And if you want to get a little fancy, chop up a half an onion
> in small dice and simmer it in a cup of milk, bring it to a boil and
> then turn it down to a simmer for about 15 minutes, take it off the heat
> then and if it sits another 5 minutes that's fine, but you want to use
> it quickly to make a gravy with your cooked blond or brown roux.
>
> Adding a bit of crushed garlic to the simmering milk is de reggae ....
> chez soi *The old recipes call for filtering the sauce, filtering out
> the onions, but i don't bother, but i also make them a nice small dice,
> and if you use shallots they all but disappear into the sauce.
> --
> Joseph Littleshoes

Wow! Original poster here. These are all great ideas! I'll have to
decide which one to use and then plan a meal around it. Thanks for all
the wonderful suggestions!