Roast chicken

“ INGREDIENTS.—The remains of cold roast chicken; to every lb. of meat allow 1/4 lb. of fresh butter, salt and cayenne to taste, 1 teaspoonful of pounded mace, 1/4 small nutmeg.
Mode.—Strip the meat from the bones of cold roast fowl; when it is freed from gristle and skin, weigh it, and, to every lb. of meat, allow the above proportion of butter, seasoning, and spices. Cut the meat into small pieces, pound it well with the fresh butter, sprinkle in the spices gradually, and keep pounding until reduced to a perfectly smooth paste. ”

“ It takes from twenty-five minutes to one hour to roast a chicken, with a good fire. The time depends as much on the quality of the bird as on the size. With a skewer or a small knife, or merely by pressing on it with the fingers, anyone can learn how to tell when done, after having roasted only two or three. Even by the look of it, many persons can tell.
With Water-cress.—Dish the chicken when roasted, put fresh water-cress all around, remove the fat from the gravy, which you turn over the whole; add salt and pepper to taste, a little vinegar or lemon-juice, and serve warm. ”

“ Method.—Roast the chicken in front of a clear fire, or in a moderate oven, and cut it into pieces convenient for serving. Cut the vegetables with a plain 1⁄2-inch diameter cutler into rounds about 1⁄4-inch in thickness, boil them separately in salted water, and drain well. Melt the butter in a stewpan, put in the vegetables, season with pepper, and toss them over the fire until the butter is absorbed. Arrange the chicken in the centre of a hot dish, strain the hot sauce over, group the vegetables round the base, sprinkle over them the chopped parsley, and serve. ”

“ Put chicken in roasting-pan and roast until done.
SMOTHERED CHICKEN Two tender chickens cut in half, split down the back; place the pieces in a colander to drain well, after having been well salted; season with pepper; grease well the bottom of a baking-pan; add one stalk finely chopped celery, onion; lay the chicken on breast, side up; sprinkle lightly with flour, fat; two cups of hot water. Have the oven very hot when putting chickens in. As soon as browned evenly, cover with a pan, fitting closely. Reduce the heat of the oven; allow to cook slowly an hour or so longer, until tender. ”

“ Dry it well with a clean cloth, and fill the crop and body with a stuffing the same as "Dressing for Fowls." Lay it in a dripping-pan; put a pint of hot water and a piece of butter in the dripping-pan, add to it a small tablespoonful of salt, and a small teaspoonful of pepper; baste frequently, and let it roast quickly, without scorching; when nearly done, put a piece of butter the size of a large egg to the water in the pan; when it melts, baste with it, dredge a little flour over, baste again, and let it finish; half an hour will roast a full grown chicken, if the fire is right. ”

“ Mince fine and add two hard-boiled eggs and one and one-half cups of cream sauce, and
Two tablespoons finely minced parsley,
One and one-half teaspoons of salt,
One teaspoon of paprika.
Heat to boiling point and then simmer slowly for ten minutes.
[pg 201]
CHICKEN POT ROAST, CEDAR HOLLOW STYLE
Select a fat stewing chicken and then singe and draw. Wash and wipe with a clean cloth. Place in a fireless cooker or cook until tender. Now rub with shortening and dust with flour and brown in hot fat in a deep saucepan. Turn the chicken frequently so that it can be browned on all sides. ”

“ Place them in a buttered pan, pour an ounce of clarified butter over, and roast in the oven for eighteen minutes. Pour half a pint of cream sauce. (No. 181) onto a hot serving-dish, arrange the chicken nicely on top, and decorate with six thin slices of broiled bacon (No. 754) , also six small corn-fritters (No. 965) . Serve as hot as possible.
786. Suprême of Chicken à la Toulouse. —Singe, draw, and wipe neatly three fine, tender spring chickens. Remove the skin from the breasts. ”

“ After the chickens are cleaned and trussed fold them in a nice white cloth, put them in a large stew-pan and cover them with boiling water; boil them gently, and skim carefully as long as any scum rises; let them simmer slowly as that will make them plump and white, while fast boiling will make them dark and lose flavor. When done lay them on a hot dish, and pour celery, oyster, or egg sauce over them. Serve some also in a boat, as it keeps hot longer than when poured over the fowls. Boiled tongue or ham should be served with boiled chicken. ”

“ Chickens for roasting or boiling, should have a dressing prepared like that for turkies. Half a tea cup full of rice boiled with the chickens, makes them look white, they will be less liable to break if the water is cold when they are put in to boil, a little pork boiled with the chickens improves them, if you do not boil any pork with them, put in a little salt. Chickens for broiling should be split, the inwards taken out, and the chicken washed inside and out, put the bony side down on the gridiron, and broil it very slowly till brown then turn it, when done take it up, salt, and butter it. ”

“ It is better, however, to use a fowl which has been cooked on purpose, as the broth from such a one is of finer flavor. Soak the cracker-crumbs in a little of the cream. Break three eggs, separate the whites from the yolks, and carefully drop the yolks into hot water; boil them until they are hard. Chop the chicken in a chopping-tray until it is as fine as meal, previously having removed everything except the clear meat; mix the soaked cracker with it; press the hard egg-yolks through a coarse wire strainer and put them in, and also the salt, pepper, and broth. ”

“ SWEET AND SOUR ROASTER BREASTSServes 3-4 Boneless roaster breasts grill quickly and make an impressive dish for guests. Because they are skinless, they absorb marinades well, but should be turned and basted often to keep the meat moist. Without basting, they can quickly get dry and tough. 1 roaster boneless breast 1/2 cup diced onion 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon cornstarch In a shallow dish, combine onions, soy sauce, oil and ginger. Place chicken in marinade ”

“ Beat ten eggs very light, add to them a quart of rich milk, with a quarter of a pound of butter melted, and some pepper and salt; stir in as much flour as will make a thin good batter; take four young chickens, and after cleaning them nicely, cut off the legs, wings, &c. put them all in a sauce pan, with some salt and water, and a bundle of thyme and parsley, boil them till nearly done, then take the chicken from the water and put it in the batter, pour it in a deep dish, and bake it; send nice white gravy in a boat. ”

“ The younger the bird, the milder the flavor. A game hen, which is five weeks old, will have the mildest flavor of all. A broiler, at seven weeks, will still have a quite mild and delicate flavor; a roaster, on the other hand, is usually about five weeks older than a broiler and it will have a much more pronounced "chickeny" flavor. (Frank and I enjoy chicken at all ages, but if we had to choose on flavor alone, we'd most often go for the roasters.) For a really strong, chickeny flavor, see if you can find fowl or spent hens or stewing hens. ”

“ White meat must be well cooked, but not dried. Fifteen minutes before it is done, rub it over the top and sides with butter, dredge it with flour, and replace it in the oven until it becomes a golden brown and looks crisp. Draw out the trussing cords, and garnish with parsley. Serve with it a giblet sauce. Do not use a tough chicken for roasting; one a year old is about right. A roasting chicken may be larded if desired.
STUFFING FOR FOWLS
Moisten a cupful of bread-crumbs with a tablespoonful of melted butter; season highly with salt, pepper, thyme, chopped [185] parsley, and onion juice ”

“ Truss it neatly, stuff it with sausage and bread-crumbs; mix some flour and butter, taking care it does not color in the pan, for it must be a white rout; plump your chicken in this, and add a little water, or soup if you have it; take four little onions, two small carrots cut in half; tie in a bundle the tops of celery, some chives, a bay-leaf, and some parsley; salt to taste, with a bit of mace—will be all you require more; cover close, so that the air is excluded, and keep it simmering two hours and a quarter: it will turn out white and plump; place the vegetables round it ”

“ It's easy to serve and easy to eat since the guests don't need to cut anything. 2 whole roaster breasts 2 and 1/2 to 3 pounds each 1/2 cup butter or margarine 8 cups chicken broth 3/4 cup raisins 1/4 cup curry powder 1/2 cup flour 1-1/4 teaspoons salt or to taste 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper or to taste 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper 2 cups light cream or half and half 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley Puffed Pastry Hearts (see recipe) or toast points Chutney, slivered toasted almonds, other condiments, optional In 4-quart Dutch oven or large, deep skillet over high heat, bring chicken broth to a boil. ”

“ Beat whites slightly, add few grains salt, and cook as yolks. Cool, turn from cups, cut in thin slices, then in desired shapes.
Stuffing for Chicken in Aspic Chop finely breast and meat from second joints of an uncooked chicken, or one pound of uncooked lean veal. Add one-half cup cracker crumbs, hot stock to moisten, salt, pepper, celery salt, cayenne, lemon juice, and one egg slightly beaten. In stuffing boned chicken, stuff body, legs, and wings, being careful that too much stuffing is not used, as an allowance must be made for the swelling of cracker crumbs. ”