Worst gravy I ever made

[gsdx]

I'm not sure if it was the turkey or the fact that the lid wouldn't fit on the roasting pan and I had to roast if simply covered in foil.

I went to baste it at the time I usually baste it and there were no juices there despite the fact that I had added a cup of water before putting it in the oven.

No juices for basting meant no juices for gravy. I added another cup of boiling water water and a cup of chicken broth, hoping to salvage it.

Managed to get a passable gravy out of it, but it was far from my usual standards.

Still, waste not, want not.

 

[BINOWGAYLATER]

Must have been the bird -- you shoudda got some "drippings" i take it -- it was a "big one"??

I just woudda used jarred gravy or made some from the little packets of dry mix - and added some stock and herbs and butter to "freshen" it up..

My Cornish Hens were very Juicy - and i saved some drippings to make some gravy - it will be ready in about an hour - hungry? (Oh - i stuffed them with ORANGES --that musta helped)

 

[chatolandia]

I roasted a pork shoulder

so no gravy

but I got crackling

 

[star-warrior]

When I'm roasting chicken leg quarters or wings, it often goes a little dry, so I alway put in boiling water into the baking tray 10 minutes before it's ready. I've decided that whole roast chicken takes too long so quarters it is...

I made a sandwich cake base yesterday, wrapped it up and placed in the fridge overnight. Today, I whipped up some double cream and jammed the cake and served it for the sweets course - the family loved it. Home made tops store bought for taste and freshness most of the time.

 

[gsdx]

How did the turkey turn out?

Quite tasty, actually, but a bit 'tough' and 'stringy'.

Funnily enough, the skin was rather thick and fatty. Not edible at all.

 

[Seasoned]

Roasting means cooking in an oven with no lid and no added liquid. Added fat yes, but no liquid. The cooking method you describe is steaming or braising and should have produced a ton of liquid.

 

[BINOWGAYLATER]

yup - soreknees - GSDX seems to have roasted a tuff old [STRIKE]queen[/STRIKE] i mean BIRD --

it was , by his own admission - tough, thick, fatty - not edible at all !!
OMG - did he cook CHICKENGUY???

I'm dying to try my new NU-WAVE countertop oven !! supposed to cut 1/3 of the cooking time off lots of things --- but i better watch the instructional DVD first !!

CHATO - next time - throw a big pork butt in the slow cooker with tons of garlic and dowse it with LIQUID SMOKE-- use about a quart of apple cider for the liquid - and after about the first 5-6 hours - cover the top with tons of fresh spinich leaves -- then leave it for another 5 hours-- it will be AWESOME -- it simulates KALUA PIG pretty well - and you don't have to dig a 4 foot hole in your back yard and chop down a banana tree and heat lava rock for hours and hours.. !!!

 

[cklover]

Is your roasting pan dark or light coloured? If it's dark coloured and you used tin foil then that will affect the cooking time and it should have cooked longer before basting.

I would think though, that the problem was with your turkey. It's possible you got a bad bird.

 

[gsdx]

Is your roasting pan dark or light coloured? If it's dark coloured and you used tin foil then that will affect the cooking time and it should have cooked longer before basting.

I would think though, that the problem was with your turkey. It's possible you got a bad bird.

That's my guess, too. It was a 'fresh' bird, but near its Due By date by 2 days.

The roasting pan is one of those blue enamel pans with the reverse-embossed 'leaf' pattern in the bottom similar to this:

I've been roasting turkeys in it for years and this is the first time I've had to leave the lid off, and this is the first time it totally dried out.

I always line the inside of the pan with aluminum foil (both length- & widthwise, shiny side in, and enough to cover the bird completely) and set the seasoned & stuffed turkey on a wire drip rack. I pour in a cup of water and fold the foil loosely over the turkey and set the lid on top and pop the pan into the oven. A half-hour before cooking is finished, I take off the lid, fold back the foil, baste it, and put it back in for the final half hour for browning.

This time, like I said, the lid didn't fit, but that was the only difference. What little drippings I got out of it (perhaps an eighth-cup) was very thick.

Still, after the dozens of turkeys I've cooked, I guess I've been pretty lucky.

 

[okiedokie]

i've used a cooking bag for a few years and they work for me. you put the bird in the bag, a couple cups of water, 2 spoonfuls of flour, tie the end up, polk 4 or 5 holes in the top of the bag, cook a few hours and it has always worked great. loads of gravy and moist meat.

 

[Tadaa]

You can make a decent gravy with water, base, flour, butter, cream and black pepper.

 

[ronboy]

At least you made the attempt to make homemade gravy, Neil.

I gave up on trying long ago. I am a good cook, but gravy just isn't my forte.

My gravy is always of the jarred variety. I usually buy either the Heinz or Pepperidge Farm brands. Three minutes in the microwave, and it is smooth, thick and tasty on my meat and/or homemade mashed potatoes...

 

[Mitri T]

I was thinking you are meaning a different kind of gravy.

HA

 

[chatolandia]

that's the exact same pan I used for my pork

but I was looking for the dry heat


I think it was the bird

 

[Yooper]

At least you made the attempt to make homemade gravy, Neil.

I gave up on trying long ago. I am a good cook, but gravy just isn't my forte.

My gravy is always of the jarred variety. I usually buy either the Heinz or Pepperidge Farm brands. Three minutes in the microwave, and it is smooth, thick and tasty on my meat and/or homemade mashed potatoes...

Sorry about the crummy turkey.

Dig the wrapper with the sticker or tag out of the garbage and take it with your reciept back to Price Chopper. Complain loudly. They should give your money back or at least issue a store credit. Seriously. Do it.

I've taken an empty frozen pizza box back because the food was hideous, but I was so hungry I ate it anyway. They still gave me my money back.

 

[Centexfarmer]

I love Alton Brown, and his show "Good Eats" on the Foodnetwork.

Here's his recipe for the Best Gravy Ever Recipe!



I've learned some pretty cool things about "gravy," and how certain bases for it are also bases for various "sauces" too.

No more "just add water" packaged stuff for me!

 

[Joshua_me]

I swear, turkey's aren't what they used to be....

My poor Mom was mortified, tonight. She's been roasting turkey and making the best gravy ever since before I was born. But, this year... We're not sure what happened. The turkey came out dry and stringy, there were next to no "drippings", which meant really lousy gravy. The only taste from the bird was salt and MSG.

*Yuck*

Everyone tried to reassure her that it wasn't her fault, but it sucks to spend half the day in the kitchen only to have the turkey turn out lousy.

It's been a strange Christmas all the way around.

 

[Joshua_me]

I suspect there's a boat load of slow cooker turkey soup in my future.

I was really tempted to throw the whole thing away, but Mom is of the "waste not, want not" mindset as well...

 

[ozguy]

....

 

[gsdx]

You can make a decent gravy with water, base, flour, butter, cream and black pepper.

We call that 'white sauce' and use it on vegetables and such.

Sorry about the crummy turkey.

Dig the wrapper with the sticker or tag out of the garbage and take it with your reciept back to Price Chopper. Complain loudly. They should give your money back or at least issue a store credit. Seriously. Do it.

The turkey wasn't particularly bad. It wasn't dry or inedible (except for the skin, that is, and I just peeled that off) and it was delightfully tasty.

Just no drippings for making gravy.

I'll know better next time to buy a skinnier bird that will fit in my pan.