Smothered Chicken

  Posted on April 19, 2013  by Leslie Blythe  1 comment

Today’s blog is from my brother-in-law, Russell from Rochester, NY.

I’ve always served this over rice. I used a 5-lb chicken, which was still too small to be labeled a “roasting chicken”. I have always added the mushrooms but not the olives.. Today I learned an important tip from Leslie about browning meat—the pan has to be heated first before the oil is added, so that the (well-dried!) meat goes into a really hot pan. I also had a little too much liquid in the casserole at the end because I started with more than 1 ½ cups, and I should have reduced the stock by boiling, down to the specified amount. Between that and the fact that the flour didn’t stick to the damp chicken, my sauce was thin but still tasted good. It’s comfort food, plain and simple, and Leslie’s husband Eric liked it—it smells great while you’re making it!

Smothered Chicken 
(from The Joy of Cooking by Irma S.Rombauer)

6 to 7 servings

a 4-lb roasting chicken
¼ cup seasoned flour [salt and pepper and paprika, or with seasoned salt]
¼ cup olive or vegetable oil
1 small sliced onion
1 sliced clove garlic
3 or 4 chopped celery ribs [I used 5]
1 medium-sized carrot [I used 3 carrots]
1 ½ cups hot chicken stock (or part white wine)
[1 cup sliced sautéed mushrooms]
[12 sliced stuffed olives]

Prepare the chicken for cooking. Disjoint it. Place the chicken in a paper bag with the flour. Close the bag and shake vigorously. Brown the chicken in the oil. Place it in a casserole. Cook the onion, garlic, celery and carrots in the fat for 10 minutes. Put the vegetables in the casserole. Pour the hot stock (or stock and wine) over the mixture. Bake, covered, about 1 ½ hours or until tender. [Add the mushrooms and olives to the dish 5 minutes before it is done.]