Dish of Chicken with Wine and Fruit
(click to enlarge)

Chicken with Wine & Fruit


England - Elizabethan
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4 main
***
2 hrs
Yes		 This English dish was around during the time of Elizabeth I. In those times sugar was very expensive, so dishes were sweetened with dried fruit. This dish is rather sweet, the way they liked them then, but it's tasty.




2-1/2
1
1/2
ar
ar
-------
2-1/2
-------
1/2
1/2
3/4
1
1/2
1/2
1/4
-------
#
t
t


----
c
----
c
c
in
lrg
t
t
c
----
Chicken meat (1)  
Salt
Pepper
Flour
Oil, frying (2)
-- Sauce
Wine white (3)
-- Flavorings
Prunes, pitted
Dates, pitted (4)
Ginger Root
Apple, tart
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Currents
-------------
Prep   -   (35 min)
  1. Cut CHICKEN into largish chunks, about 1-1/2 inch or so. Too small, they will thicken the sauce too much.
  2. Cut PRUNES in half crosswise. Pit DATES and cut in half lengthwise. Slice GINGER very thin and chop fine. Core APPLE and cut into 8 wedges. Cut the wedges in half crosswise. Grind Cinnamon and Nutmeg. Mix all with Currents.
Run   -   (1-1/4 hr, depending)
  1. Rub Chicken with Salt and Pepper. Dust lightly with Flour, shaking off all excess.
  2. In a iron pan, heat Oil about 1/8 inch deep or a little more. Fry Chicken in batches until lightly browned on all sides. Batches won't take much longer, and the chicken will brown before it dries out. Drain on paper towels.
  3. In a tightly coverable pan, place Chicken, White Wine and the Flavorings mix. Bring to a boil, cover tightly and simmer slowly until Chicken is tender (about 30 minutes).
  4. The flour on the Chicken will absorb a lot of liquid, and there should be a little left to make the sauce. If needed, correct with boiling water.
  5. Serve Chicken hot with the Sauce.
NOTES:

  1. Chicken:

      Use Thigh and Leg meat, which is now widely available skinned and boned. This weight is for skinless, boneless and trimmed of fat. The pattern recipe used bone-in joints (you would need about 4 pounds), but I use just meat for ease of buffet service, which also prevents family fights over parts.

  2. Oil:

      Use a durable, high temperature oil. Pure or Pomace Olive Oil (not Virgin) is good, but Peanut or Rice Bran oils will work. For details see our Cooking Oils page.

  3. White Wine:

      This should be a dry wine, as there is much else sweet in this recipe.

  4. Dates:

      Diglets are fine. The super sweet Madjools were not available in England. They were available only to Arab royalty until some had to be sent to California to save them from disease. We sell them to anyone who has cash.
  5. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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