The Second Avenue Deli Cookbook (26 page)

SERVES
6

Take a Polish immigrant restaurateur (Abe) who eats barbecued chicken somewhere and thinks it's the best thing since sliced challah. He brings some back to his Chinese chef, and the two of them spend night after night over a hot grill in the Deli kitchen trying to duplicate it. Hence, the Deli's unique Eastern European/Asian-style barbecued chicken, the recipe for which couldn't possibly replicate that of any barbecue joint in America. But it is good.

Though this recipe specifies baking and broiling the chicken, it is, of course, optimally prepared on a charcoal grill.

1. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix everything except chicken and basting sauce ingredients. Add chicken, making sure all pieces are well coated. Cover bowl, and refrigerate overnight.

2. For the basting sauce, coarsely chop orange and lemon pulp and peel. Place them, along with citrus juices and crushed pineapple, in a food processor; pulse until smooth. Pour mixture into a saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add honey, ketchup, and duck sauce, and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove chicken pieces from marinade, leaving only the amount of marinade that sticks to them. Discard the rest. Place in a baking dish, and bake 30 minutes.

4. Turn oven to broil. Brush chicken well with basting sauce, and broil for about 5 minutes (or until chicken browns on top; keep an eye on it). Turn chicken pieces, brush again with sauce, and brown other sides.

SERVES
6

1. In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon salt, ½ teaspoon of the pepper, and 1 tablespoon garlic. Place chicken pieces in a shallow baking dish (or similar), and rub them with this mixture, covering thoroughly. Pour wine over chicken, cover the dish, and refrigerate for 4 hours or longer.

2. Pour 2 tablespoons of the corn oil into a large skillet, and sauté onions until nicely browned. At the last minute, add 1 tablespoon garlic, and brown quickly. Remove onions and garlic with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon corn oil to skillet, and sauté celery until very slightly brown (celery doesn't brown much) and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to bowl with onions and garlic. Add remaining 1 tablespoon corn oil to skillet, and brown mushrooms. Remove with a slotted spoon to the same bowl.

3. Add chicken soup, plum tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, oregano, paprika, and remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper to sautéed vegetables in bowl, and mix well. Place chicken in a skillet, and pour ingredients in bowl over the chicken and simmer 15 minutes. Turn chicken pieces and simmer 15 minutes longer or until chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender. (If you need 2 skillets to cook all your chicken, divide sauce equally between them.)

4. Remove chicken pieces to a platter. In a bowl, mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons cold water until it is thoroughly dissolved. Spoon 1 cup sauce from skillet into bowl, about 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing thoroughly each time. Return cornstarch-thickened sauce to skillet, stir in, and boil for 1 minute.

5. Return chicken to pot. Serve with rice or egg barley.

SERVES
6

Like goulash, chicken paprika evolved from recipes created by nomadic Magyar shepherds who cooked their meals alfresco in vast cauldrons hung over open campfires. Hungarian chefs refined and enhanced the dish, and Jewish cooks substituted schmaltz for bacon drippings and omitted sour cream from the sauce.

1. In a deep dish, mix flour, poultry seasoning, rosemary, and salt. Thoroughly dredge chicken pieces in this mixture, place them in a covered dish (do not overlap), and refrigerate until needed.

2. Heat schmaltz or olive oil in a large skillet, and sauté onions until nicely browned. At the last minute, add garlic, and brown quickly. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl, and set aside. Add green peppers to skillet, and sauté until lightly browned.

3. Transfer green peppers to a Dutch oven or wide-bottomed stockpot; add onions and garlic, tomatoes, sugar, paprika, cayenne, and 1 cup chicken soup. Mix well. Add the chicken pieces, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender.

4. Keeping heat at a low simmer, spoon off a few cups of clear sauce as best you can (don't worry if there's a piece of onion in it). Pour corn oil into a medium saucepan and add flour, stirring well until it is completely dissolved. Put the roux pot on medium to high heat, and add the sauce, a little bit at a time, stirring constantly to create a thick, smooth, pastelike roux. It will get a little less pastelike as you add more sauce. Transfer the roux to the cooking pot, and stir in well. Add salt to taste. Place chicken and sauce in a large serving dish, and serve with noodles, dumplings, or spaetzle, and a side dish of cucumber salad.

SERVES
6

This dish is listed on our menu as chicken in the basket. We serve it with French fries and coleslaw (171 and 7).

1. In a bowl, mix salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Rub chicken pieces well on all sides with this mixture, and place in a covered dish. Refrigerate for 2 hours or longer.

2. In a large bowl, mix cornmeal, flour, garlic salt, eggs, and water. Stir vigorously to a smooth batter.

3. Dip each chicken piece in batter, coating it thoroughly, and place on a platter without stacking.

4. Dredge battered chicken pieces in flour, and place on a clean platter, once again without stacking. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5. Pour corn oil into a large, deep skillet (enough to cover chicken pieces), and heat to sizzling. Over medium to high heat, fry chicken for 20 minutes or until nicely browned.