Another Hawaiian-inspired dish. We haven’t talked about chicken sizes yet, but here’s Julia Child giving a brief introduction to the different sizes of chicken:
The differences in members of Julia’s peep are their sizes (obviously) and their ages (less obviously). Both broilers and fryers are comparatively young, about six to eight weeks old. As the chickens get older, the flavor intensifies, but the meat toughens, so the naming convention is in order of the methods by which they can be cooked, in theory; the faster the method, the younger the chicken needs to be. So while a broiler can be fried, roasted, or stewed, a roaster shouldn’t be broiled, in theory.
Emphasis on theory. In practice, it always depends on the chicken you’ve got in front of you. With the amount of science Perdue has been applying to chickens, if Purdue says it came up with an 8-pound broiler, I’d take them at their word. (Frankenchicken. Delicious, delicious Frankenchicken.)
A family recipe provided by Jennifer Kiel of Washington, DC, from her mother-in-law’s collection, started in Kent, Ohio.
Waikiki Chicken
1 broiler fryer, cut up
All-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
Kraft oil
1 cup crushed pineapple
1 cup Kraft Barbeque sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. ginger (I prefer a little less)
Coat chicken in seasoned flour and brown in oil. Drain off excess oil. Combine pineapple, barbeque sauce, cornstarch and ginger; pour over chicken in skillet. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until done.
Serves 4.