Broiled Chicken with Gravy

 23 June 2021

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, January 2021

The last few months we've tried several new chicken recipes: skillet roasted chicken breasts and oven-fried chicken. We enjoyed both of these. Then the January 2021 issue of Cook's Illustrated introduced yet  another recipe promising a quick route to roast chicken and it comes with a great bonus: gravy . (There are probably no Test Kitchen dishes with more recipes than roast chicken.) Any meal that includes gravy is going to get my attention so deciding to try this roast chicken recipe was an easy decision.

A whole chicken was spatchcocked: the backbone was removed, the chicken was placed breast up on a cutting board and pressed down flat. Holes were poked in the skin with a paring knife. The chicken was rubbed with vegetable oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and the legs were tied together. Oil was heated in a skillet, the chicken was placed in the skillet, skin side up, and transferred to the oven. The broiler was tuned on and the chicken was cooked until the breast registered 155°. This took 55 minutes. The gravy wa prepared while the chicken cooked. 1 cup chicken broth was cooked with giblets, back, and trimmings from the chicken until all of the liquid evaporated and a dark fond formed in the saucepan. Onion, carrot, celery, fresh parsley, and fresh thyme, and garlic were added and cooked until the onion was translucent. Dry white wine was added, the fond was scraped off the pan bottom, and the mixture was  brought to a simmer.  Additional chicken stock was added and brought to a simmer and cooked until reduced in volume by half. The stock was strained into a bowl. Butter was melted in the saucepan and flour was added and cooked to a deep golden brown. The stock was whisked into the roux, brought to a simmer, and cooked until thickened. Drippings from the chicken were added to the gravy after removing fat. The gravy was not done until well after the chicken had been removed from the oven. Total time was about 2 hours.

The chicken and the gravy were both good and this recipe is worth making again. Mise en place for the gravy should be done before the chicken is placed into the oven so the gravy is ready sooner. Also, some of the chicken skin scorched. It still taste good but the worst of the scorching could have been prevented by protecting the skin with aluminum foil.