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Roast Chicken

A roasted chicken served with giblet gravy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Martin, Maria Ewing, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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Roast Chicken

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the chicken

  1. Clean and singe a chicken not over a year old.

  2. Stuff the chicken with plain stuffing, fill the body and cavity, and sew them up.

  3. Cross the legs up under the skin and fasten with a small skewer to the rump.

  4. Turn the wings back and run a skewer through them and the body.

  5. Tie the skewers with twine.

Roast

  1. Put the chicken on its back in a dripping pan, rub with butter, cover the bottom of the pan with hot water, and bake in a quick oven 15 minutes per pound, basting every 10 minutes.

  2. Let it brown before taking up.

Make the giblet gravy

  1. Cover the giblets in a saucepan with cold water and let simmer while the chicken is baking.

  2. Cut the giblets fine.

  3. Put the dripping pan on top of the stove, stir 1 tablespoon flour into the gravy.

  4. When smooth and brown, add 1 cup of the water in which the giblets were boiled, and as soon as it boils, add the giblets.

  5. Season to taste.

Serve

  1. Take off the strings and skewers, and serve on a hot dish with giblet gravy in a boat.

By Martin, Maria Ewing, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Chicken (in the method)
Forms the main body of the dish, and its fat and juices flavour the pan drippings.
Butter (in the method)
Adds fat and richness, helping the skin brown during roasting.
Flour
Thickens the pan drippings into a smooth gravy.
Giblets
Add savoury flavour and body to the gravy once cut fine.

The step that matters

Let it brown before taking up. Browning comes from the Maillard reaction and caramelisation at the skin's surface, which need dry heat. Basting adds moisture, so the bird must be left long enough at the end for the skin to colour and develop flavour.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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