Wayne Boatwright wrote on 02 Mar 2006 in rec.food.cooking

> 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.
>

I find that the pan juices usually have enough fat in them. I mix up some
water and the flour in a jar with a lid...Shake it well to eliminate
lumps and add that to the pan juices.

--
-Alan