Stewed or steamed whole chicken
Prepare a fully drawn stewing chicken for cooking: Pull out pin-feathers and singe bird over flame; wash well, rinse, and dry. Clean giblets.
Stewed Whole Chicken.—Place the bird on a rack in a kettle and add water to half cover bird. Salt water lightly. Cover kettle and simmer until chicken is tender, turning occasionally for even cooking. Three to 4 hours will probably be needed.
Cook giblets with the chicken, removing them as soon as done.
Cool chicken in broth, breast down, an hour or more.
The cooked whole bird may be browned with or without stuffing. Coat it with fat, place it breast up on a rack in a shallow open pan, and brown at about 350° F. (moderate oven).
Steamed Whole Chicken.—Follow the same general directions as for stewing, but add water only to the level of the rack in the kettle and keep the bird breast up all the time. As the water boils away, add more. Steaming time will be 2 to 3 hours.