On Thu 02 Mar 2006 06:20:23p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Alex Rast?

> at Fri, 03 Mar 2006 00:04:15 GMT in >,
> (AC) wrote :
>
>>
>>Teri wrote:
>>
>>> I'm cooking Mimi's sticky chicken and see that it's released quite a
>>> large quantity of pan juices. What do you do with the pan juices?
>>> (If you suggest making a gravy of sorts, i would appreciate a recipe
>>> and directions - i seem to have a problem getting gravies to thicken
>>> properly - can anyone explain the 'science' behind getting gravies to
>>> thicken?). Thanks.
>>> Teri
>>>
>>
>>
>>here are some basic gravy tips that i've learned from trial and error
>>
>>1. it takes about 1.5 tablespoons of flour to thicken 1 cup of liquid.
>>2. IMO a roux thickened gravy tastes better than other thickeners (roux
>>is equal parts fat and flour) when making the roux from pan drippings,
>>try to ensure that there is no or very little water component to the
>>drippings. a gravy seperator works well for this. if there is water in
>>the fat component when your start the roux, the flour will clump. if
>>there is only fat, the result will be smooth. once all of the flour is
>>well coated and cooked/toasted, you can add the liquid/ju willy nilly
>>and it won't clump. it may require some stirring to smooth.
>
> Unfortunately, I've not found the last point to be true. In fact, there
> seems to be to me some "magic" behind getting gravy not to clump that I
> don't understand. I do a roux just as you describe. There's never any
> problem with making it smooth during the roux stage. And then I can
> brown the roux as desired. But then, when I add liquid - usually hot
> broth, occasionally hot water - invariably, the roux clumps badly. I can
> declump it, by stirring for about 1/2 hour, carefully pressing the
> clumps against the side and spreading them out, then stirring back in,
> but this is insanely tedious. It doesn't matter how much liquid is
> added, the result is the same, it would seem, every time. Can anyone
> speculate what I might be doing improperly?

You are possibly adding the a too hot liquid too quickly to a too roux. I
find it easier to avoid lumps by letting the cooked roux cool slightly, and
only gradually adding warm (not hot) liquid to it while whisking briskly.
Once it is all added, bringing up the heat to a boil. That never lumps for
me.

--
Wayne Boatwright o¿o
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BIOYA