Chicken Stock
Select a large fat hen two years old. Separate the joints and cut the back into several pieces, but reserve the breast covered as much as possible with unbroken skin. Put all except the breast into a soup kettle, cover with cold water, add half a teaspoonful of salt, some trimmings of celery, a sprig of parsley, a slice of onion and small blade of mace, and set to cook; or if preferred, omit all flavoring materials from the stock. As soon as the water boils place the breast, skin side up, on the top of the other pieces, cover closely, and let simmer four hours or until the skin of the breast becomes gelatinous. When perfectly cooked remove the breast to a tureen or bowl, strain the broth over it, and set aside to cool. The breast prepared in this way is in perfect condition for being made into salad, or creamed chicken. If the stock or broth is wanted for immediate use skim off the grease, after the cooked chicken has been removed, season and serve.
A two-part method: a clear stock and a piece of poached breast meat reserved for salad or creaming. The hinge is that the breast goes in only after the water reaches a boil, and comes out as soon as it is done.
- The henA "large fat hen two years old" is a stewing hen or fowl, an ex-layer with well-developed collagen and far more flavour than a young bird. Supermarket birds are slaughtered young -- broilers at a couple of months, roasters not much older -- and will not give the same body; look for a stewing hen at a halal or Asian butcher, or use a 5-6 lb roaster plus a few backs and wings for gelatin.
- Four hours is for the pot, not the breastThe stock benefits from the long simmer, but modern breast meat poached four hours is dry and stringy. With a genuine old hen the skin does turn gelatinous over that time; with a young bird, lift the breast out at 160-165F internal, around 25-40 minutes, and return the carcass to the pot.
- Simmer, never boil"Let simmer" means barely trembling, around 180-190F. A rolling boil emulsifies fat into the liquid and clouds the stock past rescue. Skim the grey scum in the first fifteen minutes and leave the lid slightly ajar rather than "closely" covered, which tends to push the pot to a boil.
- Blade of maceA blade of mace is one piece of the lacy aril that surrounds a nutmeg, still sold whole in spice shops. If you only have ground, a scant pinch is enough; it is assertive and easy to overdo.
- SaltHalf a teaspoon for a whole hen and several quarts of water is deliberately low. Stock meant for reduction or for sauces should stay underseasoned; salt at the point of service.
- Cooling and storageStraining the hot broth over the breast keeps the meat moist, but the covered bowl will sit in the danger zone for hours if left on the counter. Cool it quickly in a shallow pan or an ice bath and refrigerate within two hours. The fat will cap the surface and can be lifted off cold in one disc.
- YieldThe recipe gives no volumes; how much stock you get depends on the size of the bird and the pot, and with the lid on tight little will evaporate. The breast alone will serve several as salad or creamed chicken.
American cookbooks of this kind treat stock as the foundation of the soup chapter rather than a recipe in its own right, and this entry is characteristic: it assumes a household that buys a whole bird, gets two dishes from it, and wastes nothing. The specification of a hen "two years old" points to a poultry economy in which spent layers, rather than tender young broilers, were likely the ordinary stockpot bird. Mace, celery trimmings and a slice of onion are the standard restrained English-derived flavouring of the period, and the option to "omit all flavoring materials" shows the writer thinking of the stock as a neutral base to be pushed in any direction later. The trick of poaching the breast whole with its skin intact, then cooling it in its own broth, is still the best method for chicken salad meat.