Roasting Meat for Perfect Gravy

The best gravy is made with the succulent drippings from a good piece of meat. Use your favorite recipe to roast beef, pork, lamb, chicken, or turkey (searing meat—but not whole poultry—first, if you like) by letting it sit directly on the bottom of the roasting pan, not on a rack, and basting it with oil or butter and with the accumulated pan drippings every 20-30 minutes. Cook to desired doneness, then set roast meat or fowl aside on a platter and pour all the pan drippings into a bowl. Set pan on top of the stove and let the drippings in the bowl sit until the fat separates from the juices.