Chicken Recipes

ROCK CORNISH HENS WITH RICE

This rice is called dirty not because of the bits in it (though the roux and chicken livers do “muss” it up a bit) but because jazz is called “dirty music,” and the rice in this recipe is certainly jazzed up.

INGREDIENTS
For the rice
4 tablespoons cooking oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
7 ounces ground pork
8 ounces chicken livers, trimmed and sliced

Tabasco sauce
11/4 cups homemade or canned chicken stock
4 scallions, shredded
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 cup American long-grain rice, cooked
salt and black pepper

For the birds
4 Rock Cornish hens
2 bay leaves, halved
2 tablespoons butter
1 lemon

SERVES 4

1. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, make a roux by blending together 2 tablespoons of the oil and the flour. When it is a chestnut brown color, remove the pan from the heat and place it immediately on a cold surface.

2. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil with the butter in a frying pan and stir-fry the onion, celery and green bell pepper for about 5 minutes.

3. Add the garlic and pork and stir-fry for about 5 minutes, breaking up the pork and stirring well to cook it all over.

4. Add the chicken livers and fry for 2—3 minutes until they have changed color all over. Season with salt and black pepper and a dash of Tabasco sauce.

5. Stir the roux into the stir-fried mixture, then gradually add the stock. When it begins to bubble, cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook for another 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

6. Preheat the oven to 400°F. )Mix the shredded scallions and chopped parsley into the meat mixture and stir it all into the cooked rice.

7. Put 1/2 bay leaf and 1 tablespoon rice into each bird. Rub the outside with the butter and season with salt and pepper.

8. Put the birds on a rack in a roasting pan, squeeze the juice from the lemon over them and roast in the oven for 35—40 minutes, basting twice during cooking with the pan juices.

9. Put the remaining rice into a shallow ovenproof dish, cover it and place on a low rack in the oven for the last 15—20 minutes of the birds’ cooking time.

10. Serve the birds on a bed of dirty rice with the roasting juices (drained of fat) poured on top.