When I roast a chicken, I really  like to have gravy with it. But you won't have the carcass to make stock until the chicken's been eaten, and in my experience there are never enough pan drippings for good gravy. There's no need to resort to the jarred stuff, here's how to make your own before you cook the chicken. I use wings for this because, weight for weight, they have more skin, and they are usually cheaper than other cuts. You can finish this recipe in a slow cooker, on the stove top, or in a pressure cooker. 2 to 2-1/2 lbs whole or cut up chicken wings (about 12 wings) Put the wings in a single layer in a roasting pan and pop into a 450° oven. Roast undisturbed until the wings have turned a lovely dark golden brown. Remove the wings to your stock pot, don't worry if some skin sticks to the roasting pan. If more fat has accumulated in the roasting pan than you want, pour it off. Put the roasting pan over low heat and add 2 c water. Bring to a gentle simmer while using a wooden spoon to scrape up all the lovely bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour this liquid into the stock pot. 1 large carrot in big chunks. No need to peel if the carrot is clean. 1 celery rib in big chunks 1/2 a medium (baseball size) onion cut in 2 pieces. No need to peel if the onion is clean. 2 halved garlic cloves, unpeeled (optional) 1/2 tsp rubbed sage OR 1/2 tsp dried thyme OR 2 bay leaves (optional) 6 whole peppercorns Big pinch of salt Put all the above in your stock pot and add water to cover by about an inch. Cook as follows:

• Pressure cooker: Cook for 1 hour once the cooker has reached pressure. Let pressure release on its own for 15 min then release the remaining pressure manually.
• Stovetop: Bring almost to a boil and then cook, partially covered, at a gentle simmer for 4 hours.
• Slow cooker: Cook on the high setting for 10-12 hours.

Use a spider or slotted spoon to remove most of the solids. You can pick the meat off the bones for your dog or cat if you wish, but otherwise discard--99% of the flavor has been cooked out. Strain the liquid thru a fine-meshed strainer. If there's more fat than you want, use a fat separator to remove it. This recipe makes 2 c of gravy. You can scale it up or down as needed. Leftover stock can be frozen almost indefinitely. If you have saved some of the chicken fat, you can use it in place of the butter. For a cream gravy, replace 1/4 c of the stock with half and half. 2 TB butter 3 TB all-purpose flour 2 c stock Melt 2 TB butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the flour and stir over medium-low heat until completely combined. Add 1/4 c stock and stir until you have a smooth paste--the mixture should be gently bubbling through all this. Continue adding stock in 1/4 c increments, stirring each time until completely smooth. A small whisk is ideal for this. Once you have added 1 c of stock, add the rest all at once. Stir and simmer until completely smooth and thickened. Taste for salt and correct if needed.