The Second Avenue Deli Cookbook (24 page)

Read The Second Avenue Deli Cookbook Online

Authors: Sharon Lebewohl

P
OULTRY IS A MAINSTAY
of Jewish holiday meals—from golden-skinned roast chickens and turkeys filled with savory stuffings to spicy chicken cholent, a thick stew replete with lima beans, potatoes, and chickpeas. Stuffed breast of veal became a popular entrée at Seders and other festival dinners in nineteenth-century Eastern Europe, because, in those days, it was much cheaper than beef.

Action at the take-out counter.

Roast Chicken with Bread Stuffing
SERVES
6
Among religious Jews, roast chicken has always been a frequent Friday-night entrée, because it can be left warming in the oven at a low temperature while Sabbath candles are lit, kiddush is recited, and the challah is blessed. Stuffing the chicken makes for a more festive meal.
2 roasting chickens
FOR MARINATING THE CHICKEN
4 tablespoons onion powder
4 tablespoons garlic powder
4 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
FOR BREAD STUFFING
4 tablespoons corn oil
2 cups chopped onion
¾ cup celery, chopped into ½-inch pieces
¾ cup carrots, chopped into ¼-inch pieces
3 cups scrubbed mushrooms, chopped into ¾-inch pieces, ¼ inch thick
8 cups loosely packed, cubed French or Italian bread
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
4 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons schmaltz (optional)
1½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1. Wash the chickens thoroughly in cold water, and clean out their cavities. In a bowl, combine onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Dredge the chickens (outside only) in this mixture, making sure all parts are well covered. Place in a dish covered with aluminum foil, and refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons of the corn oil in a large skillet, and sauté onions until brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon corn oil to skillet, and sauté celery and carrots until crisp and lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the onions. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon corn oil to skillet, and brown mushrooms. Remove with a slotted spoon to the bowl with onions.
3. Place bread cubes in a colander, run cool water over them to soften (do not drench), and squeeze out excess liquid. Add bread and all other ingredients to bowl with sautéed vegetables, and mix thoroughly (use your hands).
4. Stuff the mixture into the cavities of the chickens, and tie their legs together with string. (You can further truss with skewers if you have them, but it isn't strictly necessary.) Place in a baking pan with 1 inch of water. Bake, breast up, for 1 hour and 20 minutes (or until the chickens are nicely browned and the legs move easily up and down). Baste every 20 minutes with pan juices. Place extra stuffing in a separate baking dish (see
Note
), and bake it along with chickens (for 1 hour only), spooning pan
juices on it every 20 minutes (when you're basting the chickens) to keep it moist. Before serving, combine stuffing cooked outside the chickens with stuffing cooked inside them, add remainder of pan juices, adjust salt to taste, mix thoroughly, and warm briefly on stove if necessary.
Note:
The chickens should be marinated in spices for a day in advance of cooking.
Note:
Use a deep dish—rather than a large, shallow one—to bake extra stuffing. The outside will form a delicious crust, but you don't want too much crust in relation to stuffing.
Variation:
For Passover, make a matzo stuffing by substituting 10 cups of crumbled matzo for the bread cubes.

Roast Chicken with Challah-Apple Stuffing
SERVES
8
This is an especially yummy stuffing. Here, too, the chickens need to be marinated in spices for at least a day in advance of cooking, so plan ahead. Follow step 1 of the above recipe, using the same spices.
2 roasting chickens
FOR THE STUFFING
4 tablespoons corn oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup celery, chopped into ½-inch pieces
2 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¾-inch pieces, ¼ inch thick
¾ cup raisins
3 cups scrubbed mushrooms, chopped into ¾-inch pieces, ¼ inch thick
10 cups challah bread (when cubed)
1 tablespoon schmaltz (optional)
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
¾ cup pecan halves
1 teaspoon salt
1. Follow step 1 from preceding recipe.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons of the corn oil in a large skillet, and sauté onions until brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Sauté celery for a few minutes (it doesn't get very brown), and remove with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the onions. Add 1 tablespoon corn oil to the skillet, and sauté apples until lightly browned, adding the raisins when almost finished and browning for 1 more minute. Remove with a slotted spoon to the bowl with onions and celery. Finally, add remaining 1 tablespoon corn oil to skillet (or a bit more if needed), brown the mushrooms, and remove with a slotted spoon to the same bowl.
3. Cut the challah into ¾-inch cubes, place them in a colander, and moisten with water, by sprinkling a bit at a time and tossing. Do not soak. Press out
excess water, and transfer to the bowl with sautéed ingredients. Add schmaltz, eggs, poultry seasoning, pecans, and salt. Mix very thoroughly (use your hands).
4. Continue as per step 4 of the preceding recipe.

Roast Chicken with Rice and Fruit Stuffing
SERVES
8
This third stuffing is more of a Middle Eastern approach. Once again, marinate your chickens in the same spice mixture for at least a day in advance of cooking; follow step 1 of the
roast chicken with bread stuffing
recipe.
2 roasting chickens
FOR THE STUFFING
3 tablespoons corn oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup celery, chopped into ½-inch pieces
¾ cup raisins
1½ cups uncooked long-grain rice
2 cups plain chicken soup or stock, heated
¾ cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¾-inch pieces, ¼ inch thick
4 teaspoons poultry seasoning
½ teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs, beaten
¾ cup pecan halves
½ cup plain chicken soup or stock
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons of the corn oil in a large skillet, and sauté onions until brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, and, in the remaining oil in the skillet (add some if necessary), sauté celery for a few minutes (it doesn't get very brown). Remove with a slotted spoon to the bowl with onions. Add a drop more oil if needed, quickly sauté raisins, and remove with a slotted spoon to the bowl with onions and celery.
3. Add 1 tablespoon corn oil to the skillet, and sauté the rice on medium to high heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Add 2 cups heated chicken soup, orange juice, salt, and pepper to the skillet of rice. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove rice mixture to a large bowl, and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
5. Combine rice with all other ingredients, except remaining chicken soup, and mix thoroughly.
6. Continue as per step 4 of the bread stuffing recipe, but add the ½ cup chicken soup to your extra stuffing.

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