Stuffed Chicken

History

Gallina Rellena ("stuffed hen") is a recipe printed in the Spanish home-cookery manual La Mejor Cocinera (Recetas de Cocina), issued by the Madrid publishing house Editorial Calleja. The book carries no named author, and its printed method is itself the primary record of the dish. As printed, the recipe describes a specific technique: the hen's skin is removed whole and set aside, the bird is boned and its meat finely minced together with veal loin (lomo de ternera) and ham (jamón), seasoned with salt, ground pepper, nutmeg and a glass of sherry, and rested a couple of hours; the reserved skin is then spread out, filled with the forcemeat and sewn up so it keeps its shape, wrapped in a clean cloth, tied, and simmered for two hours in water with the hen's bones and trimmings, onion, leeks, carrots, thyme and parsley; after cooking it is pressed and served sliced into rounds ("se prensa, y para servirla se parte a ruedas"). The book itself frames who it was written for. Its preface dedicates it to "la dueña del hogar" — the mistress of the household, of any social position — in the interest of order and economy. The historical record I could open does not document a specific origin, inventor, region of first appearance, or occasion for this particular dish. The earliest firmly located edition of the book is an Editorial (Saturnino) Calleja hardcover printed in Madrid in 1923.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• veal loin (lomo de ternera)
• jamón (cured ham)
• to taste salt
• to taste ground black pepper
• to taste nutmeg
• 1 glass sherry (jerez)
• 2 hours cooking time in broth
• 1 whole onion
• 2 stalks leeks (puerros)
• 2 whole carrots
• 1 sprig thyme (tomillo)
• 1 sprig parsley (perejil)

Instructions

1. Clean the chicken thoroughly. Carefully remove the skin in one whole piece and set aside. Bone the chicken and mince the meat very finely. Mix the minced chicken meat with finely minced veal loin and jamón (cured ham).
2. Place the mixture in a bowl and season with salt, ground pepper, nutmeg, and a glass of sherry. Stir well and let rest for a couple of hours.
3. Spread out the reserved chicken skin. Fill it with the seasoned mixture and sew it closed, taking care to maintain the bird's shape. Wrap the stuffed chicken in a clean cloth, tie it, and place it in a pot of water to cook for two hours. Add the chicken bones and scraps, onion, leeks, carrots, thyme, and parsley to the cooking water.
4. Once cooked, press the chicken to compact it. To serve, slice it into neat rounds.