Coronation Chicken

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City/Region: United Kingdom

Time Period: 1953

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This poached chicken in a well-balanced creamy sauce, subtly sweet with hints of curry, was first served at the luncheon following the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953. Though as the new Queen did not attend the luncheon, she probably didn’t get to try the dish that day, but in later years it became a favorite when she would summer at Balmoral Castle. This original version isn’t sickly sweet like some modern versions, and you’ll find no raisins here.

“Coronation Chicken (Cold) (For 6-8)
2 young roasting chickens
water and a little wine to cover
carrot
a bouquet garni
salt 3-4 peppercorns
cream of curry sauce (see below)

Poach the chicken, with carrot, bouquet, salt, and peppercorns, in water and a little wine, enough barely to cover, for about 40 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool in the liquid. Joint the birds, remove the bones with care. Prepare the sauce given below. Mix the chicken and the sauce together, arrange on a dish, coat with the extra sauce.
For convenience in serving on the occasion mentioned, the chicken was arranged at one end of an oblong dish, and a rice salad as given below was arranged at the other.

Cream of curry sauce
1 tablespoon oil
50g/2 oz onion, finely chopped
1 dessertspoon curry-powder
1 good teaspoon tomato purée
1 wineglass red wine
¾ wineglass water
a bay-leaf
salt, sugar, a touch of pepper
a slice or two of lemon and a squeeze of lemon juice, possibly more
1-2 tablespoons apricot purée
450ml/ ¾ pint mayonnaise
2-3 tablespoons lightly whipped cream
a little extra whipped cream

Heat the oil, add onion, cook gently 3-4 minutes, add curry-powder. Cook again 1-2 minutes. Add purée, wine, water, and bay-leaf. Bring to boil, add salt, sugar to taste, pepper, and the lemon and lemon juice. Simmer with the pan uncovered 5-10 minutes. Strain and cool. Add by degrees to the mayonnaise with the apricot purée to taste. Adjust seasoning, adding a little more lemon juice if necessary. Finish with the whipped cream. Take a small amount of sauce (enough to coat the chicken) and mix with a little extra cream and seasoning.
This is an admirable sauce to serve with iced lobster.

Rice salad
The rice salad which accompanied the chicken was of carefully cooked rice, cooked peas, diced raw cucumber, and finely chopped mixed herbs, all mixed in a well-seasoned French dressing.”

— The Constance Spry Cookery Book by Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume

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Ingredients:

Chicken

• 4 large chicken breasts, or other cut that you like
• 6 cups (1 1/2 liters) of water
• 2 cups (475 ml) white wine
• 1 carrot, chopped into large chunks
• 1 bouquet garni*
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3-4 peppercorns

Cream of Curry Sauce

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 cup (50 g) finely chopped onion
• 2 heaping teaspoons (about 5 g) curry powder
• 1 heaping teaspoon (about 6 g) tomato puree
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) red wine
• 6 tablespoons (90 ml) water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 1/2 tablespoon (10 g) apricot spread or puree
• Generous 1 3/4 cups (450 g) mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons, plus a little extra, lightly whipped cream*

Rice Salad

• Cooked rice
• Cooked peas
• Diced cucumber
• Finely chopped herbs, your favorites
• French dressing, your favorite French vinaigrette

*See notes below.

Instructions:

1. For the chicken: Mix the water and white wine to a large pot, then add the chicken, salt, carrot, bouquet garni, and peppercorns and set the pot over medium-low heat. The goal is to raise the temperature very, very slowly so that the chicken cooks all the way through without overcooking the outside and undercooking the inside.
2. When the water just starts to let off bubbles from the bottom, turn off the heat and cover with a lid. Check the internal temperature of the chicken after 5 minutes, you want it to be 150°F (66°C), but not much over. If it’s not up to temperature yet, cover and check it again every couple of minutes (it could take up to 10 minutes).
3. Take the chicken out of the pot and let it rest for at least 5 minutes, but it’s better to let it cool completely.
4. For the cream of curry sauce: Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add the onion. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the curry powder. Reduce heat to low and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add the tomato puree, red wine, 6 tablespoons of water, and bay leaf and bring it to a gentle boil.
6. Add the brown sugar, salt, pepper, two lemon wedges, and a generous squeeze of lemon juice.
7. Cook for 1 minute, then taste and add more of any of the ingredients to adjust the flavors to what you want.
8. Simmer the sauce uncovered for 10 minutes.
9. Strain the sauce into a bowl and let it cool completely.
10. In a medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and apricot puree, then add the cooled sauce a little at a time until it’s as strong as you like, mixing well before adding more. You’ll probably end up using all of it. Taste again and add more of any of the ingredients to adjust the taste to your liking.
11. Gently fold in the 3 tablespoons of whipped cream until well combined.
12. Mix a little of the finished sauce with a little of the extra whipped cream, then coat the chicken in the mixture.
13. For the rice salad: There are no measurements given for this in the historic recipe, and to be honest, I didn’t measure anything when I made it, but added amounts of each that I thought looked good. Toss all of the ingredients together, adjusting amounts to your liking.
14. Slice the chicken, pour the sauce over it, and serve it forth with rice salad, coronation optional.

Notes

• A bouquet garni is a small bunch of herbs tied together with some twine. Which herbs you use is up to you, some common ones are 🎶parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme 🎶. Really any savory herb will work, but I’d steer clear of mint as it can overpower the dish.
• To make the lightly whipped cream, use whipping or heavy cream and beat in a chilled bowl with a whisk attachment or handheld mixer just until very soft peaks form when you lift the beaters.

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