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Friday, August 20, 2021

The Pork Boys Do Chicken Fricassee

M. P. took a break from Sunday dinner duty last weekend and handed me the job.  I decided to try a dish known across the South under one name or another, but that I had never made myself.  I consulted a lot of cookbooks, ancient and modern, before embarking on this adventure - at the bottom of this post you will find the hundred-year-old recipe that was my starting point.  The essence of it is, you first lightly brown your chicken pieces in some oil, then simmer them in a dark gravy (roux + chicken bouillon) until they are very tender:  an hour and a half to two hours will do.

Then you serve the chicken and gravy over rice, and there you go.  We didn't take any pictures, but it so happens that the fellow in this video - which I found the day after I cooked my chick frick - does it almost exactly the way I did, so you can get a good idea of what we ate.  M.P. licked his plate clean, which tells you all you need to know.

 

From the Picayune Creole Cookbook, New Orleans, 1921:

Caution: Unfortunately, this recipe omits the roux, which is essential; the dish will not be nearly as brown or as tasty without it.


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4 comments:

Frank said...

Making me hungry. After a week away from home and only takeout I can’t wait to cook again.

Russ Manley said...

I hear you. Hope all is well with Leon's mom and you fellows can get back to normal life soon.

Davis said...

I've had something similar in Paris. Delicious

Russ Manley said...

Bien sur!

BTW, Julia Child explains that chicken fricassee, coq au vin, and boeuf bourguignon are really all the same recipe, with variations of meat and sauce. Most enlightening, that.

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