Best of Maria’s Kitchen: Crispy Roast Chicken and Gravy

In honor of Maria’s Farm Country Kitchen turning 6, I’ve decided to revisit a few fan-favorite recipes. On Monday, I reposted the number one most popular recipe on my blog: Mashed Potatoes from Scratch.

But you can’t just eat mashed potatoes (well, you can, but they’re better as a side). So here’s one of my favorite dishes to serve with my mashed potatoes: Crispy Roast Chicken and Gravy.

This is one of the meals I regularly make for my family. The truth is, not only is it a family favorite because it’s absolutely delicious, but also because it’s so easy.

Honestly, I can’t understand two things: 1) why anyone would want to eat a piece of chicken that doesn’t have crispy skin surrounding it and 2) why anyone would make it seem so hard. Roast Chicken with Crispy Skin is one of the simplest, easiest things that can ever be made. You only really need three things: an oven, a whole organic chicken with skin, and a roasting pan that can go from oven to stovetop (for the gravy!). I have a stainless steel roasting pan, but you can also use a cast-iron pan. You’ll also need a bit of flour, water, and salt for the gravy. But that’s it! Nothing more. No fussing!

Chicken with Crispy Skin

Ingredients:

• 1 organic chicken

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place chicken in the roasting pan breast-side up (don’t laugh, someone in my house did put the chicken breast-side down once, and it was a serious error in crispy skin-ness!).
3. Bake for about an hour or two, depending on the size of the chicken. DO NOT BASTE!
4. How can you tell if it’s done? Well, the leg will be a little jiggly and easy to pull on, the juices will run clear if it happens to be stabbed with a fork, and the skin looks good and crispy!

And now for the gravy…

Gravy

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup flour
• ¾ cup water
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Remove chicken from pan and place on a serving dish (make sure to tilt the chicken as you move it so all the juices from inside pour out into the pan).
2. Place pan on stovetop and turn the burner heat to high.
3. Mix together flour and water and stir until smooth. Then add mixture to the drippings.
4. Scrape the pan and stir until gravy is thick, about a minute.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Two Tips:

1. After you’re done eating the chicken, the carcass makes a great chicken broth base. Just put the carcass in a saucepan, cover it with water, add salt, and boil for an hour or two; then strain. You now have homemade broth—which tastes better than anything store-bought—and you’ve gotten it for “free.”
2. My favorite leftovers? Take a good crusty piece of whole wheat bread and toast it. Then microwave some of the leftover chicken pieces and gravy and pour over the toast. DEVOUR.

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