Anne Willan

Coq en Pâte

Chicken in Pastry

Preparation info
  • Serves

    6

    • Difficulty

      Medium

Appears in
top 1000French Regional Cooking
French Regional Cooking

By Anne Willan

Published 1981

  • About

A bird with a handsome head is an asset for this dish, since custom dictates that the head peep out from the blanket of pastry.

Ingredients

1.8-kg chicken, cleaned but preferably with head

Method

Make the pie pastry*, substituting sour cream for water, and chill for 30 minutes or until firm.

Slit the skin on the neck of the chicken and remove the neck, leaving the head attached to the skin. Pull any pinfeathers from the head and skin. Using a sharp knife, remove the wishbone from the chicken to make carving easier.

Prepare the stuffing: soak the bread in the milk; then s