My mother has been making this roasted chicken—loaded with garlic, onion, lemon and fresh thyme—for years. It’s what I request when I need comfort food that only a mom can muster up and it’s the perfect pick-me-up for a cold, drizzly day, which—for mid-June—we seem to be having a lot of lately.
Growing up, I only had one qualm with my mother’s roasted chicken and that was the fact that she never served it with gravy. (Blasphemous, I know.)
So, a couple years ago I started making my own gravy to serve alongside my mom’s nearly-perfect poultry. It’s been a staple alongside chicken dinners in my family’s household ever since.
This delicious gravy can be made in the same amount of time it takes the chicken to rest before carving. Using nothing more than a little bit of butter, flour, chicken drippings, stock and white wine, this gravy is simple and oh-so-good.
To balance the salt and fat that gravy is notorious for, use a slightly oaky Chardonnay like the one from O Wines. This super drinkable white helps draw out the lemon flavors embedded in this gravy and pairs perfectly with this dish as a whole. What’s more—each bottle of O Wines helps fund college scholarships for low-income women. It’s a win-win.
Prep time: 25
Cook time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Makes: 1 5-pound chicken with gravy
Ingredients:
1 5-pound chicken, whole with giblets removed
2 large lemons, halved
4 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
6 sprigs fresh thyme
6 tablespoons butter
3-5 tablespoons flour
½ cup O Wines Chardonnay
2–3 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425° F. Rinse chicken inside and out. Pat dry.
Place chicken on a rack in a large roasting pan and generously season chicken cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff cavity with 2 lemon halves, onion, garlic and thyme. Liberally baste outside of chicken with 3 tablespoons of melted butter, then sprinkle with more salt and pepper.
Place in center rack of oven and roast for 1 hour. Pull chicken out and add 1 cup of chicken stock to bottom of the pan. Cover top of chicken with foil (so as not to burn it) and return to oven for 30 more minutes, or until a thermometer reads 160° F (it will continue cooking to 165° as it rests).
Once cooked, remove chicken from oven and let it rest for 15-20 minutes, or until it’s cool enough to carve. Set drippings aside.
While the chicken cools, prepare the gravy.
In a medium pan, melt remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, being careful not to brown it. Once melted, slowly whisk in 3 tablespoons of flour. Spoon in 3–4 tablespoons of drippings, then whisk in another tablespoon of flour. Add 3 more tablespoons of drippings. For a thin gravy, proceed to the next step, for a thick gravy, whisk in remaining tablespoon of flour.
Slowly whisk in white wine and 1 cup of chicken stock. Once well incorporated, bring gravy to a quick boil then reduce heat to simmer. If gravy is too thick, add remaining cup of chicken stock until desired consistency has been achieved.
Let simmer on low until ready to serve.
