Chicken au Coton

# Chicken au Coton (1842)

## Faithful Translation into Modern English

Take two or three chickens and roast them well browned, salting them as needed. Then cut thin slices of bacon and wrap the chickens all over with them; over this wrap white paper, and thus roast them, allowing them to brown well. Their giblets are boiled and, when cooked, are chopped with raw marrow, a little parsley, chives and two or three onions; then a little butter is put into a pan and, once heated, the chopped giblets are added and allowed to fry a little; then, sprinkling them with a spoonful of flour and stirring, they are fried a little more; afterward pour over them a large ladle of meat broth, a little salt and pepper and a spoonful of cream, and let them boil well; and when the chickens are well roasted, this sauce is poured into a dish and the chickens are placed in it, so that they may soften slightly in the sauce.

# Modern Tips (not part of the original text)

- Replace the white paper with baking parchment.
- Brown the chicken well before wrapping for deeper flavour.
- Reduce the sauce until velvety before pouring over the chicken.
- Serve with mashed vegetables or sautéed roots for balance.

# Historical and Language Notes

- “Au coton” is a French-derived term, suggesting enclosed cooking, similar to en papillote.
- Bacon wrapping protects the meat and adds fat during roasting.
- The giblets are used to prepare a thickened sauce with flour and broth.
- The finished sauce is poured into a dish and the roasted chickens are placed into it briefly.