Chicken Thigh Tray Bake Gravy

A tray bake is not a proper roast, but it does leave you with sticky chicken fat, roasted vegetables and lemon in the bottom of the tin. Rather than fight that, this gravy uses it. Mashing the soft roasted vegetables into the liquid does most of the thickening, so it stays light and tastes of what is already on the tray.

Ingredients

Makes about 400ml, enough for four plates

• 2 tbsp chicken fat and juices from the tray
• 1 roasted onion and a few roasted vegetables from the tray
• 1 tbsp (15g) plain flour
• 400ml (14fl oz) hot chicken stock
• 1/2 roasted lemon, squeezed if you roasted one, otherwise a squeeze of fresh
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• salt and black pepper

Kit

• Roasting tray
• Potato masher or fork
• Whisk

Method

1. Lift the chicken thighs onto a warm plate, skin side up so they stay crisp, and leave them for five minutes. There is no need for a long rest with thigh meat.

2. Push the roasted vegetables to one side of the tray and tilt it so the fat and juices gather. Spoon away any excess fat but leave two tablespoons behind, along with all the browned juices.

3. Mash the roasted onion and a spoonful or two of the softest vegetables straight into the base of the tray with a fork or masher. They will turn to a rough paste and this is what gives the gravy its body.

4. Set the tray across a burner on a medium heat, sprinkle in the flour and stir it through the mashed vegetables for ninety seconds until there is no dry flour left visible.

5. Pour in the hot stock in two goes, whisking and scraping. The mashed vegetables will loosen into the liquid and the base of the tray should come clean.

6. Simmer for six or seven minutes, stirring, until it thickens to a light coating consistency. Because so much of the thickening is vegetable rather than flour, it stays quite loose, which suits a tray bake.

7. Squeeze in the roasted lemon and stir in the mustard. Roasted lemon is much mellower than raw, so taste before adding more.

8. Either serve it rough straight from the tray with the vegetable flecks in it, or push it through a sieve for something smoother. Season at the end.

Tips worth knowing

• Roast the thighs skin side up on a bed of onion wedges and whole garlic cloves and you have the gravy base built into the dish from the start.
• Thighs give up more fat than breasts, so be prepared to pour a fair amount away or the gravy will be greasy.
• If the tray has gone dry and dark, add a splash of the stock before you do anything else, so the residue softens rather than burning when you turn the heat on.
• Do not bother with a long simmer here. This is a weeknight gravy and it tastes best fresh and light.

Keeping and reheating

Two to three days in the fridge. It does not freeze especially well because of the mashed vegetables, which go slightly grainy, so make what you need and use it up.

Questions people ask