My Moms Red Chicken Recipes

MY MOTHER'S PRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• On a washable board, un-truss the chicken, put it breast-side down, and press down until you hear the breastbone crack. (As you may imagine, I like this.) Then press down again, so that the chicken is flattened slightly. Now cut off the ankle joint below the drumstick (but keep them); I find kitchen scissors up to the task.
• Put the oil in a large, flame-safe cooking pot (with a lid) in which the chicken can fit snugly: mine is about 11 inches wide by 4 inches deep. Heat the oil over medium heat and add the chicken, breast side down. Brown the chicken for a few minutes, then raise the heat and turn the chicken over, tossing in the ankle joints as you do so. Add the wine or vermouth and let it bubble down a little before adding the leeks, carrots, and celery.
• Pour in enough cold water to cover the chicken, though the very top of it may poke out. Add the bouquet garni or your herbs of choice, and the parsley stalks or sprigs along with the salt and red peppercorns or a good grinding of regular pepper.
• The chicken should be almost completely submerged by now and if not, do add some more cold water. You want it just about covered.
• Bring to a bubble, clamp on the lid, turn the heat to very low, and let cook for 1 1/2 hours, or 1 hour 40 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let stand, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle the chicken with parsley leaves.
• Serve the chicken and accompanying vegetables with brown basmati rice, adding a ladleful or 2 of liquid over each shallow bowl, as you go, and putting fresh dill and mustard on the table for the eaters to add as they wish.
• Freeze Note: The cooked meat can be frozen, as soon as it is cool, in resealable bags or airtight containers for up to 2 months.

MOM'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, rosemary, chile flakes, nutmeg, salt, pepper and garlic. Place the chicken pieces in a resealable bag and pour the marinade in, coating all of the meat. Allow the chicken to marinate, refrigerated, 1 to 4 hours or up to overnight.
• Set up a grill for cooking with indirect heat. If using a charcoal grill, build the coals on one side only. If using a gas grill, heat one side only. Allow the temperature to come up to 375 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade. Place the chicken pieces skin-side up on the indirect-heat side of the grill and close the lid. Cook the chicken until almost cooked through, about 10 minutes. Move the chicken pieces over to the direct heat side of the grill and cook until nicely charred and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from the grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

RED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Place flour, salt, and black pepper into a resealable plastic zipper bag, close the bag, and shake several times to mix. Place chicken pieces into the bag, a few at a time, and shake to coat with seasoned flour; place chicken into the prepared baking dish.
• Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the onion over the chicken pieces. Mix together the tomato sauce, water, chutney, sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, ground mustard, and hot pepper sauce in a bowl until the sugar dissolves. Pour the sauce over the onion and chicken.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the sauce is bubbling, the chicken is no longer pink inside, and the juices run clear, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

MY MOM'S " RED CHICKEN "

Steps:

• In a large pan (large enough to hold all the chicken in one layer, along with some sauce), brown the chicken in the oil. If you have a non-stick pan, you can omit the oil.
• While the chicken is browning (or before), mix the tomato paste with the liquid from the canned mushrooms. Add more water if necessary -- the goal is to be able to pour the sauce, though it should still be pretty thick. (If you want to use fresh mushrooms, then you can just use water for this step.).
• Sprinkle the chicken with the thyme, salt, and pepper.
• Cover the chicken with the chopped onions.
• Pour the tomato/liquid mixture on top of everything. Mix things together as well as you can. At this point it might seem like you won't have enough tomato sauce, but as the chicken and onions cook, they'll release their liquids and you'll have more sauce.
• Cover and simmer for 40-45 minutes. Uncover occasionally to shift things around, flip the chicken over, and pour the sauce over the chicken. Add water as needed (but it might not be needed at all).
• If you're using fresh mushrooms instead of canned, sauté them in a separate skillet.
• When chicken is cooked, reduce the heat so that the sauce is no longer simmering. Add the yogurt, mushrooms, and parsley. Stir until everything is blended and warm.
• Serve over rice (we use brown rice) -- you'll definitely want something to soak up all the yummy sauce!