• Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Mulch Gardening
    • Herbs
    • 2016 Vegetable Garden
    • 2015 Vegetable Garden
    • 2014 Vegetable Garden
    • 2013 vegetable garden
    • 2012 Vegetable Garden
    • 2011 Vegetable Garden
    • 2010 Vegetable Garden
  • Livestock
    • Cattle
    • Broiler Chickens
    • Laying Chickens
    • Butchering
    • Pigs
    • Sheep
    • Turkeys
    • Homestead Hog Butchering
  • Herbal
    • Natural Health and Beauty
  • Homestead Management
    • Homestead Management Printables
    • Homestead Management
    • SmartSteader (Homestead Binder App)
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

Reformation Acres

Live Your Homestead Dream Today

  • Home
    • All About Reformation Acres
    • Subscribe
    • SmartSteader (Homestead Binder App)
    • Disclosure
    • Reader Questions
    • Affiliates
  • Blog
    • The Latest Posts
    • Farm Fresh Seasonal Recipes
  • Recipes
    • Farm Fresh Seasonal Recipes
    • My Cookbooks
      • Cake Stand
    • Food Preservation
    • Sourdough
    • Dairy
  • Contact
  • My Books
  • Recommended Resources

in Farmstead Kitchen· Recipes

Old Hen in Parsley Sauce Recipe

How to Cook an Old Hen (and have it come out tender!) Old Hen in Parsley SauceHave a old hen that isn’t laying or an extra rooster in your backyard flock? They don’t have to end up in the stock pot! Learn how to make Old Hen in Parsley Sauce– it’s full of flavor with meat so tender it falls off the bone!


Even if you rock at raising chickens, there comes  a time when you may need to cull a few of the older laying hens when they are no longer productive. A couple weeks ago we culled a few hens from the flock and I jumped at the opportunity to try a recipe, Old Hen in Parsley Sauce, I’ve had my eye on for months from my beloved Forgotten Skills of Cooking cookbook.  (It’s one of my top cookbook recommendations for the simple homestead kitchen.)

Old hens have a bad reputation for being good for nothing but to season stock, but allow me to dispel that myth for you because with proper preparation an old hen can be made fall-apart-tender and succulent. Even better because of all that beautiful golden fat.

Old Hen in Parsley Sauce was absolutely one of the most amazing chicken dishes I have ever made and if you think that I’m waiting until the next time we cull the flock to prepare it, you’d be sorely mistaken. Poor birds, I’d be looking for any reason to dispatch them. It is just as delicious made with any meat chicken from your freezer. How to Cook an Old Hen (and have it come out tender!) Old Hen in Parsley Sauce

Some notes on the recipe for Old Hen in Parsley Sauce

  • Resist the instinct to cover the bird with stock or water. It really does only take a couple cups of stock.
  • Since it’s the dead of winter here (despite the claims of the calendar otherwise) I’ve no fresh herbs growing so I used dry herbs and it turned out wonderfully.
  • While the liaison is optional, I am not afraid of uncooked farm fresh eggs so I included it and recommend you do so as well if you have the means.
  • I recently tried making Old Hen in Parsley Sauce in the Instant Pot and it turned out wonderfully… in a fraction of the time! It only took 30 minutes (plus warm-up time) to get fall-off-the-bone tender chicken!

How to Cook an Old Hen (and have it come out tender!) Old Hen in Parsley SauceSome notes on the Forgotten Skills of Cooking:

  • It’s a big, fat, clothbound, beautiful gem of a cookbook full of 700+ wonderful traditional recipes and skills.
  • Forgotten Skills of Cooking makes me want to try preparing myriads of dishes I would never have tried otherwise.
  • It is taking my farmstead cooking to the next level, making what we are growing and raising more satisfyingly flavorful.

Old Hen in Parsley Sauce

Print

Old Hen in Parsley Sauce

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Have a old hen that isn’t laying or an extra rooster in your backyard flock? They don’t have to end up in the stock pot! Learn how to make Old Hen in Parsley Sauce- it’s full of flavor with meat so tender it falls off the bone!

  • Author: Quinn

Ingredients

Scale
  • whole chicken (about 4 pounds), seasoned salt with and pepper
  • 1 large carrot, sliced
  • 3 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • a bouquet garni with a sprig of thyme, parsley stems, tiny bay leaf, & 5 peppercorns
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • ¾ cup whole milk or cream
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 2 Tablespoons flour
  • 4 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
  • Liaison (skip this step if you do not have a farm fresh egg)
  • 1 farm fresh egg yolk
  • ¼ cup heavy cream

Instructions

  1. Place the seasoned chicken, carrot, celery, onion, and herbs into a large pot.
  2. Pour the stock into the pan and then cover with a lid.
  3. Bring the stock to a boil then reduce it to a simmer for a few hours, until the drumstick feels loose when you give it a tug.
  4. Remove the chicken to a cutting board, and strain the liquid, reserving the liquid only.
  5. Dispose of the vegetables.
  6. Strain the fat from the cooking liquid. (The liquid can be simmered to reduce if it tastes weak.) Add the cream to the stock and bring it to a boil, reducing it again.
  7. Make a roux by melting the butter and whisking in the flour.
  8. Whisk the roux into the stock, simmering to thicken it to a “light coating consistency.” Taste adjust.
  9. Carve the chicken and stir the meat into the sauce along with the parsley, warming the meat back up.
  10. Prepare the liaison just prior to serving by whisking the egg yolk in with the cream. Temper the yolk by whisking in small amounts of the hot sauce until there is half of each in the bowl. Stir the mixture in with the chicken. Taste adjust if necessary and serve over brown rice or rice pilaf.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

Enjoy!

How to Cook an Old Hen (and have it come out tender!) Old Hen in Parsley Sauce

Filed Under: Farmstead Kitchen, Recipes

« ~2013 Hog Butchering Stats~
~Gleanings From April~ »

Comments

  1. Dee Johnson says

    28 February, 2014 at

    Sounds delicious! Thank you for this recipe. I have a rooster, that we butchered a while ago, thawing. I think I will try this recipe. Q: how do you pronounce Liaison, I never heard the term (used this way). Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Angela says

    16 November, 2018 at

    I made this recipe tonight, with a rooster we butchered a few days ago. Wow, it was delicious and fairly easy! I made it just as written, and served it over slices of fresh sourdough bread, instead of rice. Thank you for sharing.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome to Reformation Acres!

I'm Quinn and I hope to encourage you to not wait until "some day" to experience the satisfaction found in a simple life. You can begin living your homestead dream today!

READ MORE

As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. We may also earn small commissions on purchases from other retail websites.

Categories

Your Favorite Posts

Homestead Printables

Let’s Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Butternut Squash Pie fresh bread
30 Homesteading Skills to Start Learning TODAY fresh bread
Plant Free Chicken Food fresh bread
Dexter Cattle – Pros & Cons dexter cattle

Copyright © 2023 · Privacy Policy • Disclosure

Copyright © 2023 · Market Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in