Recipe By :
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Chicken Ceideburg 2
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 Whole frying chicken with
- giblets
4 Oatmeal bread pieces
4 Scallions -- up to 5
1/2 lb Button mushrooms (approximate)
1 bn Parsley
2 Eggs -- beaten
Salt
1 c Butter (approximate) -- softened
The second dish, though it's equally cheap and good, takes a bit
longer to fix. It's a simple roast chicken with a stuffing of my
own devising. The neat thing about it is that you put a nicely
browned roast chicken on the table in front of admiring guests none
of whom realize you've already had your meal--one better than
they're about to partake of--though that one ain't bad either.
First off, make the stuffing. Toast the oatmeal bread about medium
brown. When it pops up, let it sit in the toaster for a few minutes
to dry out. Chop the scallions into pieces about 1/4 to 1/2" long.
Slice the button mushrooms or cut them into quarters if they're
small. Chop the parsley roughly. Cut the dried toast into pices
about 1/2" square. Put all these goodies into a large mixing bowl,
add the eggs and mix well. Salt the stuffing to taste. Use pepper
too if you like it. I sometimes also add Bell's Poultry Seasoning.
At this point I reserve some of the stuffing--maybe 1/4th to
1/3rd--and add the chopped giblets to it as I find that a lot of
folks don't like them in the stuffing, hard as that may be to
grasp. But it works out good for me, as you'll see. After the
chicken is washed and dried, stuff the critter with the stuffing
from the non-gibletted bowl.
Back when I developed this dish--when I didn't know how to cook--I
took the word at it's face value and stuffed the stuffing into the
body cavity. Since then I've heard that it's considered good form
to stuff it loosely to allow for expansion. Don't listen to these
lies. Stuff that sucker full!
Heat the oven to between 350 to 400°F. Rub the chicken with butter
and salt it. Put the stuffed chicken, breast side up, on a roasting
rack in a pan of some sort with sides about an inch or so high--a
big pyrex cake pan works well. I use one of those racks with the
adjustable sides to hold the bird in place though anything will
work except a vertical roaster.
Now here's where the sly part comes in. Have a fork or a pair of
chopsticks handy. I recommend chopsticks if you can use them.
You'll see why in a minute. Take the gibletted dressing and pack it
all over the surface of the chicken, patting it into place. Put the
neck where you can reach it to baste it. Dot the stuffing
generously with pats of butter. This ain't health food... Put the
bird into the oven and close the door. Don't look for about
15 minutes or so. Chat. Entertain your guests. Pour them some more
wine.
After 15 minutes you, as the cook, will be ready to begin one of
the best meals of your life while your guests sit unsuspecting,
waiting for the bird to be done. When the time has elapsed, start
basting with a bulb baster. Do this regularly and religiously every
5 to 10 minutes or so. Salt occasionally. The stuffing and giblets
on top of the chicken will start to brown as you baste it with the
flavor laden combination of butter and chicken juices. The toast
bits will get crispy. The scallions will add their luscious juices
to the basting liquid. The mushrooms will steam and beckon. Soon
you'll be picking off the browner bits and savoring them. Each time
you open the oven, a new selection of bits will be ready for your
delectation!
Try to look harried and pained so your guests won't know how much
fun you're having. Give them some more wine to keep them quiet.
Have a little yourself. Maybe serve a salad or something... If any
of them get suspicious, tell them you're "adjusting the
seasonings". That should throw them off the track enough that none
of them will be tempted to "help" you with that arduous task. Heh,
heh, heh...
As you gradually clear the stuffing off the surface of the chicken
the skin will begin to brown too. Keep basting! The chopsticks come
in real handy now for retrieving the bits of mushrooms, giblets and
whatever that fall down under the rack. They can get in where it's
hard to get a fork. The dish is done when all the stuffing coating
the outside of the bird is in your stomach and the skin has turned
a nice, crispy, savory golden brown. Take the chicken out, put it
on the serving platter and de-stuff it. Serve with rolls, salads,
vegetables, mashed taters and gravy (made of course, with instant
mashed potatoes)--whatever your guests like or whatever strikes
your fancy. You won't care. You'll already be full! I generally
polish off a leg and a wing or so just for appearance's sake
though. Oh yeah--and I always make the "sacrifice" and take the
perfectly roasted, crispy skinned neck so my guest won't have to
suffer through it...
Two cautions. One about the stuffing. I love it, but it won't taste
like traditional stuffings. It will be redolent of mushrooms,
parsley, and scallions, very moist and--to my taste--quite nice. I
really like the taste of oatmeal bread. Using other bread, you'd
probably have to spiff up the seasonings a bit. The other caution
is--do not use garlic! Heresy, I know, to some folks, but I tried
it and it disrupted the nice balance of flavors.
For folks who like crispy skin, all the basting produces an
excellent skin--full of flavor and crispy. Good stuff--a meal in
itself.
