Kentish Chicken Pudding

This is just the job to cheer you up on a cold wet August day, It should be autumn day but there you are.

Kentish Chicken Pudding


This is almost the chicken version of a steak and kidney pudding using chicken, bacon and mushrooms. Rather than jointing and and boning the chicken for ease of preparation use boned chicken thighs.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 4–5
1.5kg chicken
350g suet crust pastry
220g chopped bacon
1 onion, chopped finely
100g large mushrooms, sliced thickly
20g butter
20g plain flour
500ml chicken stock
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
Salt and pepper

METHOD
1.Remove the meat from the bones of the chicken and make the stock with them by boiling with salt, pepper and a bouquet garni for 2–3 hours or if using thigh meat use a good quality stock cube.
2.Grease a 1.5 litre pudding basin and roll out the pastry to line the basin, leaving enough pastry to make the lid of the pudding.
3.Chop the chicken into bite-size pieces and place in a bowl.
4.Mix the bacon, onion, mushrooms and parsley with the chicken and pack tightly into the pudding basin.
5.Melt the butter in a pan with the flour and stir together over a low heat.
6.Stir in the stock and bring to the boil. Stir until the mixture thickens. Season with salt and pepper if necessary.
7.Pour sufficient of the sauce into the meat mixture and reserve the other to serve with the cooked pudding.
8.Roll out a lid with the reserved pastry and press firmly on top of the pudding.
9.Cover with a layer of greaseproof paper and a layer of foil and tie securely with string.
10.Steam for 2 1/2 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes and the reserved sauce.

The mushrooms may be omitted and replaced with diced Bramley apples for a change.