Chicken Memorials

[Mrs Blue Sky]

Yorkshire puds just need a batter, like you would make for pancakes, but a bit thicker. Also make sure you get the oven good and hot - usually after you have taken out the main (meaty) part of the roast and have the temp up to finish off the roast spuds. Put the bun tin with a bit of fat in at the top, let it get really hot and then put in the batter. As long as you've beaten plenty of air into the batter it shouldn't fail! I use four tablespoons of flour, 2 eggs, about half a pint of milk, but see how you go, you might not need all the milk, you should have it quite thick, and sometimes different batches/makes of flour take up liquid differently. I can't make decent gravy myself, and always end up putting it through a sieve! One lump or two?!

[Lesley]

Bracken - I'm no expert but I use...

8oz plain flour, pinch of salt, 1 pint of milk and three eggs.

Whisk the flour eggs and half the milk together and then gradually add the rest of the milk. Whisk for about 1 minute. Leave to stand for a while (half an hour)

 

Put 1 teaspoon of oil in each hole in the tins and heat until really hot. Pour in batter, half way up each indent and cook in a hot oven (200C) for 20-25 mins.

 

This amount made 48 small yorkshires and we froze half.

[Louise]

Gravy method

 

Cook your meat in a large tin with quite tall sides.

 

After the meat is cooked lift it out and set it to one side if cooking roast potatoes etc in with it take them out too.

 

Carefully pour off the excess fat (if any) but retain the meaty juices and the liquid they are in.

 

Add a couple of forkfuls of plain flour to the juices (I use about 2 heaped forkfuls and that makes enough gravy for 4) mix the flour in well to a paste like consistency but don't worry if there aren't many juices just stir it in it will be thicker.

 

Put the tray on a cooker ring about medium heat and once the paste starts to bubble you need to get the liquid in.

 

Add some stock made by using the vegetable boiling water or made as a stock pot with meat and veg added just for the gravy (thats how I do it you get really tasty gravy if the stock is made by boiling the veg to death for 40 minutes!!)

 

Add quite alot to the tray and stir well the flour and juices should start to thicken the liquid quite quickly and so long as you keep stiring it shouldn't go lumpy if it gets too thick add more liquid I use about a litre of liquid in total but it will depend on how much flour you add at the beginning

Keep adding till you have the consistency you like and cook it for about 3 mins to cook the flour thoroughly (don't add all of the liquid too quickly about half till it begins to thicken then the rest)

 

You need to get all of the chewy bits of flavour off the bottom of the roasting tin while you stir so don't use a non stick pan as you need to be quite firm with the fork you are using to stir I find a metal fork works best and you need to be quite rough

 

If you don't want bits in your gravy then sieve it but it is only to remove bits not lumps I have never had lumps doing this but you have to make a good paste with the flour and keep stiring once it is on the heat

 

Enjoy

[becks]

a good tip someone once gave me to separate the fat from the meat is to take the meat out of the pan when its cooked then pour the fat and juices over lots of ice cubes in a jar - the juices will separate the fat solidifies in the ice so you an separate them. Also if when you are stirring in the flour and making the paste you use a wooden spoon it won't go lumpy! I also add red or white wine to my gravy or sometimes some madeira which makes it very tasty!