For Thanksgiving we made a big chicken this year instead of a turkey. It is just the two of us so we don’t need all those leftovers, plus we just like chicken more than turkey. We rub the bird all over with sage, rosemary and thyme then smear it with butter and pepper (no salt because we had dry-brined it overnight the night before following Kengi’s instructions.) This has two effects: one, it flavors the meat. Two it makes for delicious pan drippings that underpin the giblet gravy.
The key to making good giblet gravy: cook the giblets in water, with a bit of salt, 1 carrot, 1 stalk of celery, 1/2 of an onion and 3 cloves of garlic, all coarsely chopped. Keep adding water as things cook down. Remove the giblets and peel as much meat off the neck as you can and discard the rest. Strain and reserve the liquid. Finely chop the giblets and neck meat. While the bird is resting, place the roasting pan on the stove over two burners set on low. Pour in a cup of wine (red or white, it doesn’t matter) and let that reduce while scraping up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Make up a beurre manié consisting of equal parts butter and flour (about 4 Tablespoons of each.) Add this to the pan and stir to let the flour cook for a few minutes.
Now add your reserved giblet cooking liquid and the chopped giblets. Add additional chicken stock and/or cream to achieve the desired consistency. Taste for salt and pepper and add if necessary.
If you have a gravy separator, pour the gravy into it and allow the grease to rise to the top. If not, pour into a glass measuring cup and skim off the fat by layering some paper towels on top. Pour into a gravy boat, which can be rewarmed in the microwave prior to serving.
