Making President Lincoln's Favorite Meal | Chicken Fricassee

we've got the wagon all hitched up and we're fixing to take a ride back in history with Abraham Lincoln and eat one of his favorite meals chicken fra middle of the 1860s and the Civil War is going on trying to come to an end it is and there's one man who is under an extreme amount of pressure and that is President Abraham Lincoln long and tall and lean Abraham was and he worked all the time and he worried about trying to form a nation together that the North and the South got along that was his goal but this played a toll on him he never hardly took any time to eat as he would go through the house there at the White House but Mary Todd had figured this deal out his little sweet wife she said we need to fix him something that makes him comfortable one of his favorite dishes so she would ask the White House staff to fix him what chicken C but he loved him some biscuits he loved him some apple pie and they would invite guest over because if she does fix this for him and her he wasn't still going to sit down and eat so old Abraham had to sit down at that table when his guest arrived and he would eat this was one of his favorite dishes and it's fast going to become one of yours [Music] too chicken fry comes from the French means to break down or or brown usually with a sauce or a gravy now traditionally they would have used a whole chicken but today we're going to use a chicken thigh skinless now when you talk about a whole chicken they wasn't just putting the whole chicken in there stew and cook they were cutting it into legs thighs Wings breast everything like that and go ahead and putting it in there but President Lincoln also liked for the White House staff at times to chop his chicken up to lay it in there to where it was more of a bite-sized piece today I'm using chicken thighs because I really think they're the best part of the chicken to bring about a bunch of flavor deboned and they have no skin on them now when the White House staff would fix this mostly the only seasoning that was in it was margom Mace a little nutmeg maybe some salt and pepper that was about it now we're going to try to keep this pretty traditional to the way they did fix it for old Abraham Lincoln but we're just going to start off two cuz I always add a little ground mustard when I'm doing anything with chicken margarum now if you can get this fresh it doesn't take quite as much but dried we're going to put and if the way the wind's blowing today it may not all go in there a spice that I've never used a whole lot but it's very unique in the way that it is flavored and smells and that is Mace not the kind you spray in your eyes when you got somebody coming after you but got a little Citrus blend to it but also a little nutmeg a little clove mixture then we're going to add some coar ground black pepper some of our original seasoning and I'm sure if Abe would have had it he told them to use it we're going to grind a little nutmeg or grate so now why are you grating it instead of just using a powder powder this is what they had this is what they use so I wanted to keep it pretty traditional to the way things were there ever smelled nutmeg after it was ground it is so flavorful it is so we going to put a little more in there about a half of this and I would say that was pretty close look at there it's such beautiful artwork in there so let's get our chicken back over here in place we have got a dutch oven on the stove that is got about a half a stick of butter in it melting now traditionally this was cooked with a skillet on a wood stove with a lid on top but we're going to cook it in a dutch oven there today did Abe have those gloves I'm sure they had something called uh maybe hot water to wash the hands in after they washed the chicken but you can see no skin no bone in them thighs and we're just going to sprinkle over the top of this we'll give it a rubbing in and then we'll do the other side hey taste the seasoning I want to know what tast what flavors I got here yeah what your what what does it taste like I'm I'm telling you that mace it reminds me of holiday when I get that in my mouth like Thanksgiving but there's a lot of great flavor coming in here there was a funny story when I was researching this online and Abe was coming through the battle lines there long before the Civil War actually took place I think and he was on a short horse some of the soldiers there that seen him said that doesn't look right ab's feet are dragging the ground and his feet were like this far off the ground Abe ended up getting him a big old sort of draff puran looking horse and he called him old Bob old Bob stayed with him a long time and when he was practicing his law he would ride from client to client on old Bob or hook him up to the wagon and pull it there old Bob was a big old horse and Abraham didn't feet didn't drag the ground on there so got our chicken doll seasoned We'll add a little more of this right there at the end so don't throw that away butter is melted heavy cream or you can use half and half when you place that chicken in there I just want you to put it in I want you to put it in there and then turn it back over cuz I want to make sure that that top side is coated with some of that cream and butter mixture as well I'm pretty sure they cooking on wood stove back at the time too I don't know if they called theirs Bera but this is pretty typical the way we're going to cook it today going to start out on probably a medium low heat and we're just going to let this simmer for a while till that chicken gets for tender and then we'll go on with the rest you know there was another thing that comforted OA pretty well during all this time too and that was music you know they would have folks over at the White House and they would have a band come in and they would play Old traditional Irish ballads like old rosin the B one of his favorites and it was just something that calmed and took him back to a simpler time in life but also this was some of the same music that was been saying in some of the camps that soldiers were at so this was something that sort of brought president linking some peace besides just food [Music] now we got this chicken sitting over here over about medium low heat now if you're doing this on a burner in the house we're going to let all that just come to a simmer you don't want to just keep that thing boiling you don't want to Scorch that milk but we want to cook it probably 30 to 45 minutes until that chicken gets fork tender and then we'll go on with the process but you know it wasn't just the love of food that me and Abe had a lot in common we did we both have split our share of wood we have I mean I have swung that axe many times to split wood with be on a ranch or trying to make kin for old Bertha but another thing that was near to my heart and dear to his heart too was a stud Baker wagon now he had a studle baker coach that he insisted he had one because of their durability and their comfort and their ease of ride when you were going down all them old rough streets that they had back in the time and my wagon is to me is in in the same purpose you know stud baker has been in business for a long long time uh anybody could have a Chuck Wagon but St Baker was the only company that I ever knew of that you could order a Chuck box in one of their wagons but this wagon is 1876 these people were great Craftsman it's not like with the tools that we have today but a wheel R back in them days was worth his weight and gold but these wagons were put together to be strong and to last a lifetime if you take care of them and that's the way it's been stud Baker company was very successful in making wagons and they had a contract with the war department to where they built a lot of wagons for them and they had to change axles change pain and they they did this in record time to keep things moving if it was good enough for old President Lincoln to have at the White House it's sure good enough to me feed Cowboys out of but you got to remember this too folks when they were going there to the things of the Civil War were ending things were going to get better and they were going to the theater he took his last ride to Ford Theater in that stud Baker wagon [Music] well we've been on about 40 minutes here on pretty just like a low simmer uh used our Chef's temp there and we just probed some of that chicken you going to be at least to 165 on this you do and then let's get it out of there put it on a plate we'll set it somewhere warm that chicken is trying to fall apart and folks this is the making right here for what I would call some really good gravy so we got our chicken out of there you can see we still got all that good flavoring from that chicken broth that come out of that chicken plus that cream and that butter we're going to add about 3 or 4 tablespoons of sifted flour get you a little don't go too much at one time keep stirring that's going to thicken that up for when we put it over them biscuits that we got cooking with some of A's chicken this is fine dining right here this is about what I'd call the good consistency of gravy here so we didn't have to use very much flour when you got that to the thickness that you want let's go ahead and put that chicken back in there and really all we're doing is when you put it in there I want you to flip it back over one time give it a good rubbing in the bottom there and we're going to let this s for about 3 minutes check on them biscuits and make sure they're ready me and old AB are going to have us a full meal deal [Music] well I'm going to tip my hat to AB right off the bat and the White House staff that was fixing this for him because it does look like a delectable dish to me now you can see we served this with some biscuits that we had made and just poured us a little gravy over the top there you got to have some of that but I'm pretty sure that this would have happened at ab's house before we even put it in there we'd bless it a little I almost gracious have father we thank you for this opportunity and we thank you Lord for the you helping us create the history that we get to look back we just ask you to watch over us guide and direct us and thank you for this free country amen so Mage I'm going to first try just a bite of the chicken and that chicken wait first of all yes can you try the gravy the gravy oh I'm I'm All About gravy so we just going to get us a little spoon right there a little Fork of that cuz I'm interested like with those spices what what is it it's it's different than any gravy we ever made and I've made gallons upon gallons a white gravy or brown gravy but the mace and the nutmeg that's in there with the margarine it just gives this sort of a Savory taste that you think I don't really know where this is coming what is this it's a bug yeah your taste buds are trying to figure it out as it gets back there to the back and you think savory does it taste like holiday to me it does sort of taste like Thanksgiving or what you'd sort of smell walking into a house you've been cooking some pumpkin pies maybe something like that so let me just try about of this chicken Mage if that's all right oh my go it's it's a lot easier than I thought it was going to be cuz the name sounds fancy yeah I mean it's got a fancy name and what we always told you you can't get full on fancy you can't but them chicken thighs have so much flavor I mean it is a delectable dish I'm going to have a bite of biscuit with them oldfashioned buttermilk biscuits that we made it makes me want to do a little rosing of the bow on the footwork give it here give it here I think oh a might give me one of these he might tip his hat to all the ladies and everything that is some fine eating right there m would you like to try an oldfashioned homemade biscuit good boy thank you for helping us out folks it is uh something I think we need to reiterate too about how fond President Lincoln was of that old horse Bob uh when they had his funeral procession coming down the road there was old Bob right behind that had a sort of a cape layered upon him there he was a great horse me a lots President Lincoln he did and I want to thank all those forefathers ours that brought about this history that we can try to recreate but folks I'm just telling you men Shan did have some more bites of this you need to fix this cuz it will blow your it surprised me the flavor it is really good it is spot on it is but it is with pride honor and privilege that I tip my hat to all the servicemen and women and all the veterans that have kept that old flag of flying over the camp rust of you get up on in here now and get up in here what we're going to do we're going to give you a big old Abraham Lincoln [Music] hug God bless you each and everyone and be sure and share with your neighbors and your friends that's what it's all about see you down the trail yep L is on fire really we're just not really [Music]

Channel: Cowboy Kent Rollins

Views: 665,421

Keywords: how to make chicken fricassee, chicken fricassee, chicken fricassee recipe, chicken fricassee without wine, president lincoln, chicken fricassée, fricassee, historical dishes, historical foods, kent rollins, cowboy kent rollins, abraham lincoln food

Id: TeIxDGG843I

Length: 14min 7sec (847 seconds)

Published: Wed May 29 2024