Cooking For Engineers

[Aikidoish]

I have nearly given up making pan gravy for turkey and chicken because of an unpleasant flavor note -- to me it tastes like aluminium -- that I can't seem to shake.

I have switched to only roasting fresh turkey (sadly limiting me to turkey ONLY in November). I use an AL-Clad roaster, and brine the bird in a plastic container.

When I switched to fresh turkey, I definitely noticed a huge difference in the taste of the meat. But I'm still not happy with the gravy.

Last week I roasted a chicken and made pan gravy, and sure enough there was the funny taste in the pan gravy. The chicken was previously frozen, so I am inclined to blame the off-flavor on that.

[Dilbert]

how are you making the pan gravy - just reducing the juices ? or are you using a thickener?

[Aikidoish]

usually I just deglaze and make a pan sauce. For the holidays I make a quick roux to thicken the drippings after I deglaze and pull of most of the fat.

[Dilbert]

sure sounds like frozen is the issue - at first I though perhaps the roux was not cooked a bit - it can have a "raw flour" taste if not - but with/without roux thickener seems to eliminate that.

we can get fresh turkey parts most all year, but not whole fresh.

are the fresh / frozen different bands? poultry is "washed" in a sanitizing solution - perhaps one brand is using something different?

[yocona]

Are you using commercially raised/processed chicken? If so, this could be the culprit. Like Dilbert mentioned, commercial processors use sanitizing baths for the carcasses--stuff like sodium chlorite. Commercial processors also inject the chickens with salt and/or seaweed, so that the chicken retains water. The intended result is a carcass that weighs more and therefore can be sold for more. The unintended result is a product that contains many times the amount of sodium found in naturally processed chicken.

The USDA labeling regulations allow this pumped up poultry to be labeled "all natural". So simply buying All Natural, Organic or Free Range chicken in your grocery store is not a guarantee. If you only have access to commercially processed chicken, perhaps a long soak in plain water could help to remove some of these additives--at least enough that it might improve the taste of your pan gravy.

[colloss]

if you can, you may try making the gravy with gizzards too. it does at to the flavor.