Pressed Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the chicken
Place the cut-up fowls in a kettle with a tight cover to retain steam.
Add 2 cups of water, salt, and pepper over the chicken.
Cook until the meat easily separates from the bones.
Prepare and press
Remove the meat from skin, bone, and gristle.
Chop the meat for chicken salad.
Season the meat well.
Place the seasoned meat in a dish.
Pour the remaining cooking juice over the meat.
Let it cool; it will jelly and can be sliced or served in shape.
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.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Fowls
- Provide the main meat, which becomes tender and separates from the bone during slow cooking.
- Water
- Creates steam and cooking liquid that gently poaches the chicken and forms the juices.
- Cooking juice (in the method)
- Its natural gelatin sets as it cools, giving the pressed chicken its jellied texture.
The step that matters
Cook until the meat easily separates from the bones. Cooking gently in a covered pot keeps the meat moist and lets collagen in the bones and skin break down into gelatin. Overcooking dries the meat and weakens the set.
“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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