You guys are making me hungry!!!
your welcome.
This morning I cut up a chicken and put dark meat in buttermilk with secret spices. Skinned the breasts and back and cut into about 2x2 inch pieces. They will be the oil temp tester / tempering device and become
chicharrones for pre-dinner snacks, plus a few chunks of breast. If you have never done that, start it today.
Then the wing tips, back and the parts you find inside the bird all go into a 300 degree oven in my skillet. When done you remove and get the luscious meat of the back and maybe nibble on the'tail'.
All the fat that has rendered and the crunchy bits stay. I pick more crunchy bits and meat off (eat the meat that was my lunch today). The new crunchy bits and the inside the bird parts then get very finely minced and thrown back in the skillet to await supper time. I now have lots of crunchy bits.
Throw all the picked over bones in a pot of water and hard boil for a couple hours. Cool, skim fat and put in with the saved crunchy bits. Remaining water goes back on a low simmer, uncovered to reduce the stock down.
Pan fry the (room temp) bird parts and skin when done place in 177 degree oven on a wire rack. Wine is consumed during this time. Weekends it's clear potato juice...
Strain / drain grease saving crunchy bits.
Make a rue with as much fat, grease and flour as you think you will need to make the appropriate amount of gravy. Cook a long time until deep brown.
***The beverages sometimes makes this a challenge as you have to constantly stir and watch.
Add reduced stock. As it thickens ad more stock that you have in your cabinet (we do home made but store bought works) or water until your gravy is right thickness. Low simmer for another 15 minutes- the flour will most likely hydrate and you will need to add more liquid.
Open the jar of green beans you put up last summer and nuke them (we can with the bacon fat in it).
Serve all and eat. It goes without saying you have already made your potato of choice.
I'll try to take some pics of the final product, but our friend in AZ with a grapefruit tree just sent us a box of fresh off the tree fruits so the clear potato juice will be mixed with them tonight - no promises made herein as to any follow up to be made.
