Paul's pepper plants are doing amazingly this year. Paul has already chopped and frozen 5+ pounds of them to use throughout the winter. He also has more sweet peppers than I know what to do with, so I was thrilled when I saw this recipe was chosen. The only problem was that I needed to make it before our trip to Chicago, and didn't have time to go to the store. I was debating what to do when I remembered that I had a frozen stewing hen in the freezer. I didn't really know what a stewing hen was--only that it was cheaper than a regular whole chicken--and had been planning on using it for stock, but I decided to give it a try. Boy was that a mistake!!! For reasons I can't remember (this was a couple of weeks ago now), I stewed the peppers at night but then woke up at 5AM the next morning to finish the dish. With some practice, I have become pretty good at using kitchen shears and a sharp nice to cut a whole chicken into 8 pieces, but a stewing hen is a whole other story! It was incredibly tough, and dense, and it took me almost an hour to get into 8 (completely mangled looking) pieces. (Paul really wasn't happy with me because he was trying to sleep, and even though our kitchen and bedroom are pretty far away, this was very loud work). The good news is that once I finally got the hen into pieces, finishing the rest of the dish was easy. Perhaps not surprisingly, the meat was very tough--Paul said the dark meat was almost inedible--but I loved the flavor of the peppers and the tomatoes. This is definitely a recipe I'll be making again, but next time I'll be sure to actually get a chicken! Until then, I still have another stewing hen in my freezer. Does anyone has any advice on what to do with it?
I'm impressed by your chicken skills. I was a vegetarian for most of my adult life still have too many issues... I bought chicken pieces. Your dish looks terrific.
ReplyDeleteYou are a trooper for cutting up the hen. Whole fowl still makes me cringe.
ReplyDeleteIf I recall correctly, stewing hens usually need a long slow braise (2 hours or more). Good luck :-)
I'd love to hear the suggestions you get. I have two leftover chicken thighs in the freezer as well!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cher - use the hen for one of Dorie's braises and I think that will help. You're a trooper for getting up so early to finish the dish!
ReplyDeleteA lot of love went into this dish...hen or chicken, this looks excellent!
ReplyDeleteJora, you made me smile when I read your post - I was imagining you in the early morning hours cutting up a chicken - we usually use stewing hens for soups, that works wonderfully, very tasty!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend1
I also froze about 5kg of peppers from my father's garden for the winter!! Let us know how you get on with stewing the stewing hen :)
ReplyDeleteOops, I could so see myself making this same mistake since I also don't really know what a stewing hen is. Live and learn.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the chicken fiasco. Do try again with a younger chicken (or parts). You can use some of your frozen peppers this winter. As far as your other stewing hen, make stock. It will be delicious. (And discard the meat after you cook all the flavor out of it.)
ReplyDeletemaybe try a coq au vin with it? traditionally it is made with rooster, but they use the old, tough ones since it cooks for a long time and it is really delicious when its done :) great effort though! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone for the advice on the stewing hen. I'm leaning toward stock (although I do love coq au vin). I'll let you know how it goes!
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