Ingredients
1 each large chicken (about 4 lb)*
2 tbsp butter
1 each shallot or small onion
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground allspice
300 ml chicken stock
12 slices bacon
1 salt and pepper
8 oz clarified butter
Directions
* Or two small ones. -- Boil the chicken(s) lightly. Remove the meat
from the chicken, then bone and skin it. Mince until fairly fine.
Season with salt, the pepper, and spices, and the finely chopped
onion or shallot, then stir in stock and run through blender or food
processor.
. Butter well a deep casserole or dish and stretch the bacon slices
with a knife, then line the dish with them, reserving some for the
top. Pour in the meat mixture and level off. Dot the top with butter.
Lay the rest of the bacon on top. Cover with foil and a lid. Stand
the casserole in a container of hot water reaching halfway up the
side of the casserole. Bake at 180C/350F for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
When ready, run a knife around the edges and leave to get cold. When
cold, press down with a spoon, pour the clarified butter over the
top, and keep in a cold place until needed. Serves 8-10.
Servings: 8 servings
Potted Chicken (Irish) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Chicken; Poultry
The History of Recipes
It is possible to trace the history of `recipes` back into ancient history, in fact as far into history as ancient Egypt, and quite possibly further than that. Having said that, mostly, these early cook books were just simple pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing meals.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe found, according to food historians are some stone tablets in the Sumerian language which recount the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made drinkers feel wonderful. Later on, in The time of the roman empire 25BC a man called Apicius created some documents showing how to cook the recipes cooked by wealthy roman citizens. In his publication, he recounts how the meals of wealthy Romans were separated into appetizers, entrees and afters, something we still use today. This early Roman chef tells us how the cooks of Roman times made use of a good variety of aromatic flavors, including a few you will know such as thyme, fennel and asafoetida. Later, in the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought back a variety of foods and herbs from the Middle-East, including basil and coriander. The introduction of these new foods and spices led to an outbreak in manuscripts on cooking, many of which are kept safe in academic collections. During the following few hundred years, the rich families of the West strove to offer the most exotic meals, and as a result the best cooks and their recipe collections were at a premium. Notwithstanding that, it was during the 1800s that cooking and recipe collections reached a high level of popularity. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated years of their lives to collecting, trying out, and writing down popular recipes of the day. By the time we get to the 1900s, cooking publications were greatly in demand mostly as a result of increased literacy, more leisure time and having more money to spend. |
We hope you enjoy this Potted Chicken (Irish) recipe.
