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To Stew Fowl with Rice
500. Stew the fowl very slowly in some clear mutton broth, wellskimmed, and seasoned with onion, mace, pepper, and salt. About half an hour before it is ready, put in a quarter of a pound of rice, well washed and soaked. Simmer till tender; then strain it from the broth, and put the rice on a sieve before the fire. Keep the fowl hot, lay it in the middle of the dish, and the rice around it, without the broth. The broth will be very nice to eat as such; but the less liquor the fowl is done with the better. Gravy, white sauce, or parsley and butter, for sauce. Or, boil a pint of rice, and while warm, mix with it one ounce of fresh butter. Beat four eggs, and mix with it gradually; line a deep dish with the rice, and place on it a parboiled fowl cut in pieces, with a little of the liquor seasoned. Add butter, flour, and a and a little cream. Cover with the rice, set it in the oven and bake brown. Ham or tongue is an improvement.
Two dishes in one entry: a gently poached fowl served on drained rice, and a baked rice-crusted fowl pie. Both assume a bird tougher and more flavourful than a supermarket broiler.
- The fowlA Victorian "fowl" is a mature laying hen, 4-6 lb, with enough connective tissue to survive an hour or more of slow stewing. A modern roasting chicken will be falling apart in 50-60 minutes at a bare simmer; check the thigh at 175F and stop there.
- Never let it boilThe whole point of stewing in clear skimmed broth is a bird that stays pale and moist. Keep the liquid at a lazy simmer with barely a bubble; a rolling boil toughens the breast and clouds the broth you are meant to serve afterwards.
- Mutton brothLamb stock is the nearest thing and is worth seeking out for the flavour the recipe intends. Chicken stock works and gives a milder dish. Skim thoroughly, as instructed, or the rice will taste greasy.
- MaceBlade mace, the outer covering of nutmeg, was a standard savoury spice in British kitchens. Use one or two blades, or a scant quarter teaspoon of ground mace, and remove any blades before serving.
- Rice quantitiesA quarter pound is a generous half cup dry, which suits the first version where the rice is a garnish. The second version's "pint of rice" is most likely a pint measure of raw rice, though the text does not say; either way, soaking is unnecessary with modern milled long-grain rice.
- Thirty minutes of riceHalf an hour is the recipe's own timing. Modern long-grain is done in 15-18 minutes, so add it much later, or cook it separately and simply keep the broth clear.
- Drying the rice"On a sieve before the fire" means driving off surface moisture so the grains stay separate. Spread the drained rice on a tray in a 250F oven for a few minutes, or return it to the dry hot pan off the heat with a cloth over the top.
- The baked version's ovenNo temperature is given. Bake at 375F for 35-45 minutes, until the rice crust is set and browned and the filling is bubbling at the edges; the fowl is already parboiled, so you are only finishing it.
- Sauce and yieldParsley and butter is melted butter thickened with a little flour and stirred with chopped parsley, not a modern beurre blanc. Either dish serves four to six, with the strained broth as a first course.