514329 Tue Apr 29 16:31:16 -0700 2008 7 31 Home Cooking 0 3641302 I am making a roast chicken for dinner tomorrow night. I will flavor it with garlic, butter, lemon, salt, pepper and tarragon. I have searched through the "roast chicken" posts, and most of the talk is about the roasting. I would like to make a simple sauce, not gravy, by deglazing the pan. So... What should I deglaze the pan with? Dry white wine? Chicken stock? Beer? And then what do I add to make a lovely, viscous sauce? Butter? Anyone have any great ideas? Thanks! m_b Tue Apr 29 16:31:18 -0700 2008 161585 miss_bennet 1 3641385 I think the classic procedure is to deglaze the pan, scraping up the solids - I'd use stock, with or without a little white wine - and then cook the liquid down in another pan, whisking until it's reduced by about half. Then you take it off the heat and whisk in chips of COLD butter, one at a time, until it has a nice viscous quality. Much more comprehensive explanations of this, complete with the quantities of everything, can be found in lots of cookbooks, but since it's all but impossible to make this taste BAD (unless your butter is rancid or you use sweet Lambrusco!), I'd just wing it, and use whatever came out. Tue Apr 29 16:53:51 -0700 2008 3641302 11478 Will Owen 2 3641457 Classic. I make a hybrid sometimes, too, with just a bit of flour in the chicken fat before adding the broth. Broth being the key, with, as you say, just a bit of white wine. But usually I do exactly as you describe. Lovely. And cut some potatoes in 1" cubes and roast them on the bottom of the pan. Of course, be sure to remove them before making your sauce, which might take a metal spatula to gently scrape them off the bottom of the pan. Heaven. Tue Apr 29 17:17:06 -0700 2008 3641385 35409 uptown jimmy 1 3641486 I cringe at adding more fat so I just add a little flour, cook it, and then deglaze with veg stock or a little white wine or water depending. Tue Apr 29 17:28:50 -0700 2008 3641302 162977 sarah galvin 1 3641843 It's best if there are two of you, one to carve and plate the bird, the other to make the sauce. If you're doing it alone, carve the bird, plate it with whatever sides you're serving, then make the sauce. For the sauce, spoon off most of the fat in the pan, leaving behind as much of the cooking juices as you can. Place the pan on the stove over medium-high to high heat. When the juices begin to sizzle, add cold water if necessary (warm water will make for a cloudy sauce; wine is oten too sharp to add at this point and can blur the flavour; broth is usable but dulls the end result), say up to 1/4 cup. Stir with a wooden spoon while the water boils away, scraping up any tasty bits from the bottom of the pan. Eventually, when the water has nearly boiled away, you will be left with a syrupy, naturally emulsified sauce. Spoon it over the chicken and serve immediately (the sauce will break in minutes). If you want sauce for a sauceboat, i.e. sauce in quantity that will stay emulsified at the table, you pretty much have no choice but to add more liquid and use a thickener. If going that route, I'd probably opt for chicken broth and cornstarch and leave more of the schmaltz behind when degreasing and/or add a little butter. Straining optional. Tue Apr 29 19:49:09 -0700 2008 3641302 10520 carswell 2 3642196 You make it sound so complicated! Tue Apr 29 23:46:04 -0700 2008 3641843 162977 sarah galvin 1 3642437 I usually take the bird out of the pan, then let it sit on a plate or board. You're supposed to let the chicken "rest" for 20 minutes anyhow, right? Also remove the onion, potatoes, carrots, and whatever else I roasted with the chicken. Since I'm lazy, I actually sprinkle a bit of flour right into the pan, then stir around on the heat, scraping up all the bits, and I add some wine or water, and salt if it needs it. I don't usually add butter, but obviously you can. Then I pour out the resulting gravy and let it settle. I used to have one of those gravy separators, but it broke (don't buy a plastic one). I wholeheartedly recommend them if you roast chicken with any regularity. It makes skimming obsolete. You could just pour the pan juices into it, then use the contents to make gravy in another pan if you want. Wed Apr 30 05:53:59 -0700 2008 3641302 14139 Kagey 1 3642485 If your fond is substantial, I would just use water to deglaze. Since you are using lemon to flavour the chicken, I suggest adding a squeeze of lemon. As Will Owen has suggested, you can use cold butter emulsion to thicken the sauce. I personally prefer a straight reduction resulting in a lightly viscous sauce as carswell has suggested. Wed Apr 30 06:13:53 -0700 2008 3641302 145820 fmed