1660. BACON-WRAPPED BRAISED CAPON with CAPER SAUCE

1 poularde, rubbed with salt

To do the braising:
1/3 pound bacon or porkfat in 6 slices
some extra, thin slices bacon
1/2 cup chopped suet
15 black peppercorns
8 cloves
5 slices of gingerroot
1 onion, sliced
some sprigs of estragon
some roots of parsley
some chicken broth (optional)

To make the sauce:
2 1/2 tablespoons butter or chicken-dripping
1/3 cup flour
2 cups/1 pint chicken broth
lemon peel, white pepper, 3 cloves, 1 bayleaf
2 finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup capers with the vinegar
1/2 cup white wine
pinch of ground mace
2 egg yolks
small lump of cold butter
6 thin slices of bacon

Preparation in advance: Cover the bottom of a heavy casserole with a layer of thick slices of bacon. Cover this with the suet, herbs and spices. Place the chicken on top of this, and cover the bird with thin slices of bacon (optional). Close the lid, place the casserole on a slow fire to melt the fat, then put it in the oven (175C/350F). Let the chicken simmer for an hour, basting it now and then with the molten fat. If the contents of the casserole are too dry, add some chicken broth.
To make the sauce: Simmer the broth for the sauce with lemon peel, pepper, cloves and bay leafs for twenty minutes. Strain the liquid.

Make a roux: Melt the butter, or use three tablespoons of the dripping fat of the chicken (only when no broth was added). Sauté the shallots, add the flour in one go. Stir with a flat wooden spatula, let simmer on a very slow fire for five minutes. Keep stirring. Now add the strained broth, starting with a small amount. Keep stirring until all the liquid has been absorbed by the roux. Add the next amount of liquid when the roux starts boiling again (keep stirring ...). When all the broth is used, add wine, mace, capers and caper liquid.

To serve: Remove the chicken from the casserole, remove the bacon from the bird. Have a decorous serving dish ready to put the chicken on. Surround it with slices of lemon and/or lime. Show it to your guests at the dinner-table, then take it back to the kitchen to cut the chicken in portions. Arrange the chicken pieces on the serving-dish and pour some sauce over them. Use a saucier for the rest of the sauce.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Keukenboek by Henriëtte Davidis, 1868