After making a large meal for the family such as a roast or a chicken with all the trimmings, cleanup can be rather anticlimactic. Savvy cooks keep their dishwashing time to a minimum by looking for ways to use fewer pots and pans in the first place. Baking the gravy in your oven or slow cooker, instead of standing over a saucepan on the stove, is one way to do that.
Starting the Meal
Begin by preparing your roast or your chicken the way you normally would. Many cooks prefer to brown their meats in a skillet before roasting them to create additional flavors and render some of the fat ahead of time. This step is optional, but it will make your dinner tastier. Place sliced onions in the bottom of the roaster, either alone or with finely diced carrots and celery. Add a clove of garlic or a by leaf, if you wish. Place the meat on top of the vegetables, and put it in the oven.
Preparing the Gravy
When your roast is done, remove the roasting pan from your oven. Pour the drippings into a heatproof cup, leaving approximately 1 tbsp. of the fat in your pan. Stir in 2 tbsp. of flour, forming a paste. Remove the fat from your drippings, and whisk them slowly into the flour and fat mixture, called roux. If you don't have enough juices to make gravy, add chicken broth or beef broth. Cover the roast loosely with aluminum foil, to keep it warm while it rests. Return your pan to the oven.
Baking the Gravy
When you put your pan back in the oven, the starches from the flour were well dispersed through the drippings. Unfortunately, they have a tendency to sink to the bottom of the pan and stay there, so you'll have to stir your gravy every few minutes until it's done. This will usually take 20 to 25 minutes, long enough to finish your side dishes and begin carving the roast. Save the juices from the roast and part of the vegetables' cooking water, and add them to the gravy. Strain out any lumps, and serve the gravy with your roast.
Alternate Method
Another way to bake your gravy is in a slow cooker. Preheat the cooker and make a few tablespoons of roux with butter or drippings. Whisk some beef or chicken broth into the roux, and add your meat to the crock pot. Set the slow cooker to low, and let it slow-bake your beef or chicken until it's ready to eat. Cooking will thicken the gravy but the juices from the meat will thin it, so when your cooking time is finished the gravy should only need to be stirred and strained. Spoon away any surface fat before serving.
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