The Chicken Who Would Be King.

A number of times I have heard someone refer to my research techniques as being part ferret and part pitbull.  I believe I have always been like this, even as a child, being interested in a subject and wanting to know more and more about it.  Even now, my bookcases are filled with all kinds of books on the Four Corners states.  When writing my travel blog, I like to give accurate and historical insight to places we have visited.  Cookbooks?  I have one bookcase full of cuisines from all over the world.  With the knowledge available via the internet, I can dig up, and latch onto, more information than I know what to do with.  Gaining knowledge is like learning the tricks of a magician; something up my sleeve as you are distracted by another recipe to try.

So, as I began researching this newest interest in a chicken recipe, the information I found simply kept expanding.  Why?  Seems that from 1665 to 1972, someone, in some country was trying to take credit for its creation.  I cannot understand why myself as, no matter how fancy the added ingredients got, it still reminded me of one thing…Sh*t on a Shingle.  Yes, I consider this recipe the poultry version of Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast, just with some fancy veggies added in, maybe a drop of sherry or two.

While I attended university, this was a comfort food for me, along with shepherd’s pie, pizza and the greasier the cheeseburger, the better.  Ramen?  No, no, did not eat that dried out stuff when one could go to New York City’s Chinatown, and for five dollars buy enough food and eggrolls to last three days.  Try doing that now!

The name of the dish being referred to is Chicken A La King; small pieces of chicken and vegetables simmered in a thick cream sauce.  While some like to eat it over rice or egg noodles, toast cut into triangles is the more popular fashion.  It can be made from scratch, or semi-homemade using canned chicken, mushrooms and frozen vegetables; semi-homemade is quicker or course.

Back in 1665, the name of the dish was A La Royale, developed in France and served to royalty and aristocracy.  Even though it was mentioned in several cookbooks, no real written recipe ever appeared.  In the 1880s, Delmonico’s of New York City called it A La Keene, after Foxhall Keene who was an Olympic Gold Medalist in the sport of Polo.  But the Claridge Hotel of London claimed they named it A La Keene after Foxhall’s father, James, who was a famous horse breeder.  Sounds like a bit of father-son rivalry going on there.  The name change to A La King began in the late 1890s when the Brighton Beach Hotel, Brooklyn, NY, named the dish after their most popular patrons, E. Clarke King and his wife.  However, the Bellevue Hotel, Philadelphia, claimed it was created by hotel cook William "Bill" King.  When he died in 1915, his obituary stated that while he had no real claim to fame, his inspired recipe for Chicken A La King would be a testament to his cooking genius.  In 1972, James Beard inserted the recipe in his cookbook, American Cookery, called it Chicken A La King, and along with the chicken added mushrooms, green bell pepper, onion, and pimiento in a cream sauce with sherry.   …and that was that!

Now to ferret out an original recipe, and I am blown away how difficult that was. References to James Beard’s recipe was plentiful, but not available to look at unless the cookbook was purchased.  How rude!  I also found references to the same recipe on food blogs, but when looked for, surprise, no longer available for viewing.  How strange!  Then there were the celebrity, home cooks, food bloggers, etc. that claimed they were using an original recipe, but with a twist…the addition of peas.  No, No, No Peas!  Egads, just because Paula Dean loves butter and peas, does not mean you have to add them into every recipe.

This recipe is as close to original as I could come up with, and never got any complaints.

 

Chicken A La King

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salted butter

8 oz. white or crimini mushrooms, rough chopped

½ cup diced green bell pepper (or mix with red and yellow bell pepper for more color)

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups heavy cream

1 Tbsp. sherry wine (never use cooking wine, that stuff is full of salt!)

¼ cup diced pimentos

4 cups chopped cooked chicken

Preparation:

In a 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add in mushrooms, bell pepper and onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

  

Add in flour and stir until well incorporated in the vegetables. Pour in chicken broth, cream and sherry; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in pimientos and chicken; let cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until all ingredients become evenly hot.

   

 

 

Serve over cooked rice, egg noodles, toast, or biscuits.

Makes 6 servings.

 

To create a semi-homemade version of this recipe, use canned mushrooms and canned all-white meat chicken; drain the liquid for both, and chop up the mushrooms.  For the peppers and onions, I always have a frozen bag of the stir-fry ready variety, so a quick defrost and dice them up.  Simply follow the directions for the rest, and if you do not have pimentos, this dish has so much flavor, you will not miss them.

Mary Cokenour