Roast Chicken

(For best results, brine the Chicken before cooking.) - Preheat oven to 450°.

Place the bird breast side DOWN in pan and rub the exterior with butter or olive oil. In the cavity of the bird place:

1/2 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 carrot, broken into pieces
1 t dried sage
1/2 t minced garlic
or:
1/2 lemon
1 t dried rosemary

If you wish to make stock or gravy, pour into the pan:
1 pint water or 1 pint white wine

Place pan in the oven, close door and reset the temperature to 275°. After 1 ½ hours, using a cooking thermometer, check the temperature in the thickest part of the beast or thigh. The Chicken/Chicken is done when it reaches 160 degrees.

If the Chicken/Chicken should start to brown too fast, cover loosely with a tent of aluminum foil.


Chicken Soup Stock

Makes about 4 quarts of Stock Chicken, or soup, is used for soups and sauces that have a lighter touch than the heavier beef versions. The stock is not expensive to make, nor does it take much time. The result, however, is so far superior to the canned stuff or the salty chicken bouillon cubes that you won’t believe it.

3 lbs. Chicken/Chicken necks and backs
4 stalks celery, chopped into large pieces
6 carrots, chopped into large pieces
2 yellow onions, peeled and chopped into large pieces
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the Chicken/Chicken necks and backs in water to cover. Add the celery, carrots, and yellow onions. Add salt and pepper. Simmer for 2 hours. Strain and refrigerate.

The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American, Jeff Smith, William Morrow & Company, Inc., New York, 1987, p. 35.


Chicken Gumbo - Yields about 12 Cups

Cut into pieces and dredge with flour:
1 large Chicken

Brown it in:
¼ cup bacon drippings
4 cups boiling water

Simmer, uncovered, until the meat falls from the bones. Strain the stock and reserve, and chop the meat. Place in the soup kettle and simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender:

2 cups skinned, seeded tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh corn cut from the cob
1 cup sliced okra
1 large green pepper, seeds and membrane removed,
or 2 small red peppers (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup rice
5 cups water

Combine these ingredients with the Chicken meat and stock. Season to taste.

Classic gumbo recipes then read:
Add 1-2 tsp. filé powder, moistened with a little water

After adding the filé, do not boil the soup, as it will become stringy. Today, we are told that filé powder, based on sassafras, is a carcinogen. So, for a similar texture, a tapioca thickening may be substituted. Two tablespoons of quick-cooking tapioca may be added when you start to cook the vegetables.

Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer & Marion Rombauer Becker, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., Indianapolis/New York, 1975, p. 176.