Recipe of the Week: Smothered Chicken

The following recipe for smothered chicken is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924.

Ingredients
  • 2 small chickens or 1 large one
  • 2 or more tablespoons butter or butter substitute
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Flour
Directions

This is one of the most delicious ways of cooking chicken. – Take off the neck and split the chicken down the back, wiping it with a damp towel. Season inside and out with salt and pepper, and dredge on all sides with flour.  Lay the chicken, with the inside down, in a small baking-tin. and add a very little water. The pan should be very little larger than the chicken(s), otherwise the gravy will be too quickly evaporates. Cook slowly for one hour, basting every ten minutes alter the first twenty minutes, or cook in a covered baking-pan.

Should the chicken be decidedly lacking in fat, add butter or butter substitute. There will be plenty of gravy in the pan with which, to baste if the pan is small.

When done, place the chicken on a hot platter, add enough water to make two cups gravy and thicken with two teaspoons flour. Should the chicken be quite fat, remove all but two teaspoons of the oil from the pan before making the gravy. Season with sait and pepper, pour it over the chicken and serve at once. Any small birds may be dressed in this way with the most satisfactory results. The secret of success in this kind of roasting lies in very frequent basting and in not having too hot an oven.

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!