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5. Taste the burgoo for salt and pepper, adjust as needed, then ladle into heated soup bowls, and serve with “Hot’ns” or Hush Puppies.

STEWED CHICKEN

MAKES 5½ TO 6 CUPS MEAT (2¼ TO 2½ POUNDS) AND 1½ TO 2 QUARTS STOCK

Early southern cookbooks often include directions for stewing a hen because from Colonial days right up until the mid-twentieth century, many families—townspeople as well as farmers—kept a few chickens for eggs and for eating. My own family did back during World War Two, when red meat was rationed. Even though I was a little girl then, I remember dodging the feisty Leghorns as I gathered eggs. Once a hen stopped laying, Mother, following the lead of a country-come-to-town neighbor, stewed it; the meat could be used in endless ways. Because several of the southern classics in these pages call for cooked chicken, I thought that a good recipe for stewed chicken might be welcome. Note: Over-the-hill hens are hard to find these days but plump roasters can be substituted. Tip: If the bird is to be tender, you must start it in cold water and never let it boil.

One 4½-to 5-pound roasting chicken, giblets removed and excess fat discarded

1 large yellow onion, quartered

2 large celery ribs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks (include some leaves)

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

2 large whole bay leaves, preferably fresh

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1. Place the chicken, giblets, and all remaining ingredients in a large stockpot and add enough cold water to cover the chicken by about 2 inches. Set over moderate heat and slowly bring to a simmer; this may take as long as an hour. Adjust the heat so the water barely bubbles, then simmer the chicken uncovered for about 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer, thrust into the meaty inner thigh, not touching bone, registers 170° F.

2. Carefully lift the chicken from the pot and set in a large shallow roasting pan; cool until easy to handle.

3. Meanwhile, boil the stock uncovered for an hour or more over moderate heat or until reduced by one third to one half. Strain through a large fine sieve lined with cheesecloth; discard all solids.

4. Boil the strained stock uncovered in a large, heavy saucepan over moderate heat for 30 to 40 minutes or until reduced to 6 to 8 cups (1½ to 2 quarts). Cool, then pour into 1-pint preserving jars, leaving ½ inch of headroom at the top. Screw the lids down tight, and refrigerate or freeze, dating and labeling each jar. Note: Use the refrigerated stock within one week, the frozen stock within three months.

5. Using your hands, remove the chicken skin and discard. Strip the meat from the bones in smallish pieces and divide among two or three shallow plastic food containers. Cover and refrigerate or freeze, dating and labeling each container. Note: Use the chilled chicken meat within two or three days, the frozen within three months. Note: Sometimes instead of stewing a chicken, I’ll roast it untrussed and uncovered for about an hour at 400° F. or until an instant-read thermometer, thrust into the meaty inner thigh, not touching bone, reads 170° F. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, I strip the meat from the bones just as I do for stewed chicken and if not using straightaway, either refrigerate or freeze the meat to use later. This is a faster method but it leaves me without any chicken stock.

One man said it took the hair right off his chest, another one said it put the hair on his chest.

—ANDRE PRINCE JEFFRIES ON THE HOT CHICKEN SERVED AT PRINCE’S HOT CHICKEN SHACK IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

* * *

MARY RANDOLPH (1762–1828)

“The most influential American cookbook of the nineteenth century.” That’s how culinary historian Karen Hess describes Mary Randolph’s Virginia House-wife (1824) in her historical notes to the facsimile edition (University of South Carolina Press, 1984).

She adds, moreover, that “a case may be made for considering it to be the earliest full-blown American cookbook.”

That an “FFV