Sunday Chicken in the Pot with Herb Stuffing
A chicken gently poached in its broth with vegetables, its belly filled with a bread and herb stuffing. The broth opens the meal, the fowl crowns it.
A chicken gently poached in its broth with vegetables, its belly filled with a bread and herb stuffing. The broth opens the meal, the fowl crowns it.
Here, my friends, is the only luxury I allow myself. A chicken in the pot on Sunday, just as good King Henry once wished for every subject in France! I fill its belly with a stuffing of breadcrumbs, finely chopped herbs, and a little bacon, then let it simmer for hours without ever rushing it — for a fowl, like a reasoning, does not tolerate haste. From the same pot I draw the broth for my children and the meat for my table. See how nature, well observed, knows how to feed abundantly those who know how to be content with it.
- •Hen — one, drawn (centrepiece)
- •Stale bread crumbs — two handfuls (stuffing base)
- •Fat bacon — one piece (stuffing richness)
- •Parsley, chervil, shallot — one chopped bunch (flavor (signature))
- •Eggs — two (stuffing binder)
- •Carrots, turnips, leeks, clove-studded onion — one basket (aromatic garnish)
- •Salt, cloves — to taste (seasoning)
Sunday Chicken in the Pot with Herb Stuffing
A chicken gently poached in its broth with vegetables, its belly filled with a bread and herb stuffing. The broth opens the meal, the fowl crowns it.
Why this dish? For a scholar with a family — Lamarck had eight children — chicken in the pot was the dish of rare happy Sundays: a single bird yielded broth, meat, and stuffing, and fed the whole household at once.
Here, my friends, is the only luxury I allow myself. A chicken in the pot on Sunday, just as good King Henry once wished for every subject in France! I fill its belly with a stuffing of breadcrumbs, finely chopped herbs, and a little bacon, then let it simmer for hours without ever rushing it — for a fowl, like a reasoning, does not tolerate haste. From the same pot I draw the broth for my children and the meat for my table. See how nature, well observed, knows how to feed abundantly those who know how to be content with it.
Ingredients (period version)
- Hen — one, drawn (centrepiece)
- Stale bread crumbs — two handfuls (stuffing base)
- Fat bacon — one piece (stuffing richness)
- Parsley, chervil, shallot — one chopped bunch (flavor (signature))
- Eggs — two (stuffing binder)
- Carrots, turnips, leeks, clove-studded onion — one basket (aromatic garnish)
- Salt, cloves — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Stewing hen (or large free-range chicken) — 1 (1.8–2 kg) (centrepiece)
- Stale bread crumbs — 120 g (stuffing)
- Smoked bacon or belly — 100 g, chopped (moist stuffing)
- Parsley + chervil + 1 shallot — 1 chopped bunch (signature herbs)
- Eggs — 2 (binder)
- Carrots, turnips, leeks — 4 + 2 + 3 (garnish)
- Onion studded with 2 cloves — 1 (broth aromatic)
- Coarse salt — 1 tbsp (seasoning)
Method
- Prepare the stuffing: mix the soaked and squeezed breadcrumbs, chopped bacon, herbs, eggs, salt, and pepper.
- Stuff the chicken cavity with this mixture and sew up the opening (or close with skewers).
- Place the chicken in a large pot of cold salted water, bring gently to a simmer, and skim off any foam.
- Add the clove-studded onion and trimmed vegetables, poach at a low simmer for 2 to 2.5 hours.
- Serve the broth first in bowls, then the chicken carved with its vegetables and slices of stuffing.
How it was made : Pot-au-feu and chicken in the pot dominated Sundays in French families: everything was cooked in a single pot hung from the chimney crane, saving firewood. The stuffing inside the fowl — the *poule à la mie* — stretched the meat to feed more mouths.
The contemporary twist : Shape the stuffing into quenelles, brown them in a pan, and arrange them around shredded chicken; serve the broth separately in cups as a consommé.
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck · Charactorium
