3088. OYSTERS, BACON and PULLETS

serves 4-6


2 2-lb. broiling chickens
salt
1 pint oysters and their liquor
4 shallots or 1 small onion, minced
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 lb. bacon
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon each: pepper, thyme, and marjoram
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup chicken broth

Wipe the broilers and salt the cavities. Simmer the oysters in their liquor until the edges barely curl. Strain and reserve liquor for basting. Cook the shallots in 1 tablespoon butter. Dice the bacon, fry it for 5 minutes, and drain. Mix the oysters, shallots, bacon, bread crumbs, and seasonings. Stuff the birds and truss. Spread each bird with 1 tablespoon butter. Use remaining tablespoon butter to butter a roasting pan. Place birds in the pan and roast in a preheated 400-degree oven for 45 minutes, basting twice with the oyster liquor after the first 20 minutes. Keep chickens warm. Deglaze the pan on a low fire by pouring in chicken broth and scraping all the drippings. Simmer for 3 minutes. Serve separately in a sauceboat.

bacon recipe courtesy of: The Horizon Cookbook: An Illustrated History of Eating and Drinking through the Ages, by the Editors of Horizon Magazine. American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., 1968