Make Ahead Roasted Chicken Gravy

This post contains links to affiliate websites, such as Amazon, and we receive an affiliate commission for any purchases made by you using these links. We appreciate your support!

Roasted chicken gravy is an excellent alternative to turkey gravy for Thanksgiving or Christmas. You can prep it ahead with pan drippings and then freeze it for reheating later.

A gravy boat filled with chicken gravy on a white platter.

I wanted to get a jump start on my Thanksgiving dinner prep this year. My family loves my homemade turkey gravy but I can't make it in advance without a turkey.

I decided to make roasted chicken leg quarters so I'd have the pan drippings seasoned with all the same flavors as our favorite herb butter turkey.

This let me get all the work of making the gravy out of the way. On the holiday, I can just thaw the gravy and reheat it to serve with the slowcooker boneless turkey breasts i plan to make!

Why This is the Best Recipe

  1. Festive Holiday Quality: This gravy is a chicken version of my famous holiday turkey gravy. It is seasoned with fresh herbs, white wine, and shallots.
  2. Budget-Friendly: Using bone-in chicken pieces makes this easy to prep and very budget friendly.
  3. Freezer-Friendly: Once I cooled the gravy down, I stashed it in the freezer. It will be so easy to reheat on Thanksgiving morning.

Ingredients

This chicken gravy starts with real roasted chicken so you can get those essential pan drippings. There is a bit of work to start, but nothing is difficult to do.

The ingredients to make roasted chicken leg quarters are on the counter.

All you need to make it is:

  • Chicken Leg Quarters: These are bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces. The chicken leg and thigh are all one piece. You could use all chicken legs or bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs if you can't find the chicken leg quarters.
  • Butter
  • Herbs: I used fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage. If you wanted to, you could substitute dried.
  • Onion: This roasts with the chicken.
  • Shallot: The shallot goes in the gravy itself and is essential to the final flavor.
  • Orange
  • Lemon
  • Chicken Stock
  • White Wine
  • Flour

Prep the Herb Butter

Place the softened butter in a mixing bowl. Add the herbs and smash everything together with a fork to combine.

You could also zest the orange and lemon into the bowl if you want a little more citrus kick.

A section of butter has fresh chopped herbs sprinkled over it in a mixing bowl.

Roast the Chicken

I included the full instructions for roasting the chicken in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. If you want to see step-by-step photos for how to do it, you could also reference my roasted chicken leg quarters recipe.

To keep things concise, this post focuses on the steps to make the gravy once you have roasted the chicken.

A roasting pan filled with chicken leg quarters with onion, lemon, and orange pieces.

Want to Save This for Later?

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

How to Use the Chicken Meat

When you're done making the gravy, you can peel the skin from the chicken and shred the meat for using in a wide variety of soups or casseroles.

Here are some of my favorites:

Measure the Pan Drippings

Transfer the roasted chicken to a platter and set aside.

Remove the roasted onions, oranges, and lemon pieces and discard.

Pour the remaining juices from the roasting pan into a gravy separator and let it rest for a few minutes for the fat to separate from the cooking liquids.

The fat separator filled with chicken fat sits next to a measuring cup with the cooking liquid.

Once they've separated, slowly pour the cooking liquid into a large measuring cup, leaving the chicken fat in the separator. You should have 1/2 cup of chicken fat in the pitcher.

You'll be using BOTH of these things in the final gravy, do not discard either one.

Prep the Roux

Your roasting pan has lots of flavor clinging to the bottom of the pan. Place it over medium heat on the stovetop and pour in the white wine.

Use a whisk or spoon to scrape up all the browned bits from the pan and cook until the wine has reduced by half. Pour the wine into a measuring cup and set aside.

Pour the reserved chicken fat into a large pot. This is where you'll build the gravy so be sure you have enough room.

Place the pot over medium-high heat and add the flour. Whisk it in and cook for 3 - 4 minutes or until it is golden brown and bubbly.

The step by step photos show how to deglaze the roasting pan, make the roux, and pour in the cooking liquid.

Pour in the reserved cooking liquids and white wine mixture. Whisk it into the roux until smooth.

Then pour in the chicken stock and whisk until smooth.

Bring the chicken stock to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened.

The chicken stock has been added to the gravy and the mixture brought to a simmer in the pot.

The Secret Ingredient

The secret ingredient to my Thanksgiving gravy is fresh shallots. To be honest, I forgot to include them when I first made the chicken gravy and it just didn't taste right.

I realized what I forgot and quickly sautรฉed it separately and scraped it into the chicken gravy. BOOM, perfection.

You could do this in the roasting pan before you deglaze the pan with the white wine but it worked really, really well doing it separately. So that's how I suggest you do it.

Add the butter to a small skillet over medium heat. Add the minced shallots and cook until they are softened, about 2 - 3 minutes.

The step by step photos show how to soften the minced shallot in butter and add flour to make a roux.

Add 2 tablespoons of flour and whisk it into the butter. This helps balance the added fat in the gravy and gives a little thickening boost.

Scrape the entire mixture into the gravy and whisk it in. Let it simmer on the stove until the gravy is the right consistency.

Taste and adjust the salt as needed.

Make Ahead and Freezing Tips

The beautiful thing about this recipe is that you can get all the work done in advance of the holiday.

Let the gravy cool down completely. Once it wasn't steaming hot, I transferred it to the fridge to get chilled.

Then transfer it to freezer-friendly containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

Let the gravy thaw in the fridge overnight before you plan to use it. Reheat it gently in a saucepan or pot on the stovetop over medium-low heat. It will be very thick at first.

As it warms through, you'll have a better idea of how thick it really is. At that point you can add a splash more of chicken stock to thin it out if needed.

Serving Suggestions

A gravy boat that says "Oh Good Gravy" is filled with chicken gravy on a white platter.

This richly flavored gravy is perfect for your holiday table. It is what I'll be serving for Thanksgiving this year!

It makes about 8 cups which will be plenty for our dinner with boneless turkey breasts and mashed potatoes and we'll still have enough for making open face turkey sandwiches with my homemade Italian bread.

But you could use it at Christmas time drizzled over a stuffed pork loin with a mashed sweet potato side.

More Sauce Recipes

Looking for more delicious sauces and gravy for the holiday season? Don't miss these family favorites:

๐Ÿ“– Recipe

A gravy boat filled with chicken gravy on a white platter.

Make Ahead Chicken Gravy

Please Rate this Recipe
This richly flavored chicken gravy is a perfect make-ahead holiday gravy for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Made from roasted chicken seasoned with herbs and then finished with white wine and shallots, this gravy can be frozen and reheated for your holiday dinner.
TOTAL TIME 1 hour 55 minutes
PREP TIME 15 minutes
COOK TIME 1 hour 40 minutes
YIELD 8 cups

Ingredients
  

  • 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken leg quarters both leg and thigh
  • Sprinkle kosher salt and black pepper
  • 6 tablespoons butter softened, divided
  • 1 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 onion cut into quarters
  • 1 orange cut into quarters
  • 1 lemon cut into quarters
  • 1 shallot minced
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1/2 cup flour plus 2 tablespoons for the shallots
  • 8 cups chicken stock

Instructions

Roast the Chicken

  • Preheat the oven to 450ยฐF. Place the chicken pieces in a large roasting pan. Sprinkle the salt and pepper evenly over the chicken.
  • Add just 4 tablespoons of the softened butter to a small mixing bowl. Add the dried sage, rosemary, and thyme. Zest the orange and lemon over the butter. Use a fork to blend all the seasonings into the butter. Spread the herb butter evenly over the chicken pieces.
  • Chop the onion, orange, and lemon each into quarters. Scatter the pieces evenly throughout the roasting pan.
  • Roast the chicken for 1 hour or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the meat registers 200ยฐF with a probe thermometer. You may want brush the melted butter over the chicken with a pastry brush after the first 30 minutes.
  • Transfer the chicken to a platter and set aside. Remove the onion, orange, and lemon segments.

Prepare the Gravy

  • Pour the pan drippings into a gravy fat separator and set aside.
  • Pour the white wine into the roasting pan and set it over medium-high heat. Whisk the wine over the surface of the pan to lift up all the roasted bits of flavor clinging to the bottom. Once the pan has been deglazed and the wine has reduced by half, pour it into a large measuring cup or mixing bowl and set aside.
  • Place a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Once it has melted, add the minced shallots. Stir and cook until they have softened. Add just 2 tablespoons of flour and whisk it in. Let it come to a bubble and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.
  • Use the fat separator to pour the cooking liquid into a large measuring cup and set aside. You should have about 1/2 cup of fat left in the separator.
  • Pour the 1/2 cup of fat into a large pot set over medium-high heat. Add the 1/2 cup of flour and whisk it in. Cook the mixture until the flour turns it golden brown and it smells somewhat nutty.
  • Pour in the reserved cooking liquids and the reduced wine from deglazing the pan. Whisk it in until smooth. Scrape in the reserved shallot mixture and stir it in.
  • Whisk in the chicken stock and bring the gravy to a boil over medium-high heat. Once it is bubbling, reduce the heat to medium low and cook until the mixture thickens. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed, it may need a pinch of kosher salt for the flavor to fully develop.
COURSESide Dishes
CUISINEAmerican

Save This Recipe to Your Recipe Box

Find this delicious recipe next time you visit by saving it to your very own recipe box on my site. All your favorites stored in one easy place!

The photo collage shows the gravy boat filled with gravy next to the photo of the ingredients needed to make it.

Comments

No Comments

Share Your Thoughts

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating