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Smothered Chicken

This is one of the most delicious ways of cooking chickens. Clean, take off the neck and split the chicken down the back, wiping it with a damp towel. Season inside and out with salt and pepper, and dredge on all sides with flour. Lay the chicken, with the inside down, in a small baking tin, adding a very little water. The pan should be but little larger than the chicken; otherwise the gravy will be too quickly evaporated. Cook slowly for one hour, basting every ten minutes after the first twenty minutes cooking. Should the chicken be decidedly lacking in fat, add a small tablespoon of butter. There will be plenty of gravy in the pan with which to baste, if the pan is small. When done, place the chicken on a hot platter, and thicken the gravy in the pan with a little flour, after adding another one-half cup of water. Should the chicken be quite fat, remove all but one tablespoon of the oil from the pan before making the gravy. Season with salt and pepper to taste, pour the gravy over the chicken, and serve at once. Any small birds may he dressed in this way, with the most satisfactory results, the secret of success in this kind of roasting lying in very frequent basting and in not having too hot an oven.