GRUB!: Coronation Chicken

Sometimes GRUB! posts present themselves naturally. For instance, how could I not blog about eating my way across Belgrade? Or find myself in Cornwall and not tell you about Cornish pasties and cream teas? Sometimes, though, I do a GRUB! Post when I’m casting about for a quick something to blog about without having to climb a mountain or go spelunking or ride a camel or anything similarly uncomfortable or effortful. I’ve got a big list of unusual or geographically quirky foodstuffs, making it relatively easy to write something up quickly. Because, as much as it might tarnish my reputation as a scrupulous blogger and intrepid International Woman of Mystery, there are times when I just need a gimme topic to keep things ticking over here at Go Stay Work Play Live World Headquarters. And that’s how we arrive at today’s subject: Coronation Chicken.

The coronation is question is not the street. Though in my usual fashion, I fell down a Google-hole while researching that link and ended up discovering this utter gem of a fact about Coronation Street:

"The 2002 edition of the Guinness Book of Records recognises the 1,144 episodes sold to the now-defunct CBC-owned Saskatoon, Saskatchewan TV station CBKST by Granada TV on 31 May 1971 to be the largest number of TV shows ever purchased in one transaction” (from Wikipedia, of course)

This goes a long way to explaining why I have enduring memories of switching on the tv in Saskatoon in the 1970s only to hear the familiar wail of those opening trumpet notes and lunge for the channel dial like a man who’s crawled across the desert might lunge for a tall glass of water. In those days it sometimes felt like the only thing on every Saturday was never-ending stream of Coronation Street and Kinsmen Kingo Bingo. The Beachcombers was a treat. What can I say? The multi-channel universe was still decades away. Bleak times indeed.

But back to Coronation Chicken! The coronation in question is, of course, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. And unlike other traditional recipes I’ve blogged about, this one’s origin can be definitively traced to its creators, Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume. Spry and Hume were principles of the London Cordon Bleu School in 1953 and were asked to devise a dish to be part of the luncheon banquet served to international dignitaries attending the event. Left to walk a fine line between the obviously regal and luxurious nature of the proceedings, the austere times (post-war rationing was still in force) and the challenges of a kitchen too small to prepare hot food on site, the chefs devised a cold chicken salad with an exotic touch and a nod to empire in the form of (gasp!) curry powder.

Listed here as “Poulet Reine Elizabeth"

Any of my UK-based readers will no doubt be familiar with the modern evolution of Coronation Chicken whose irreducible elements are chicken, mayonnaise, curry and raisins or sultanas. These days, Coronation Chicken is most commonly found as a filling for commercially made sandwiches along with those stalwarts: Tuna & Sweetcorn, Egg Mayonnaise, Prawn Mayonnaise and my personal favourite, Cheese & Onion. (For a full rundown of popular UK sandwiches, here is an excellent source.)

It was actually surprisingly difficult to find a Coronation Chicken sandwich the day I went looking. Sandwiches seem to have moved on. Witness the Chicken Tikka & Mango Chutney sandwich and something called the Wicked Kitchen Smashin' Pumpkin Falafel Sandwich (give me strength...) It all makes me sense that Coronation Chicken has fallen out of fashion somewhat, a bit like prawn cocktail and cheese fondue. Definitely languishing in the forgotten second tier of the sandwich pantheon. Trust Marks & Spencer to come to the rescue though, with a fine example of this British classic!

Coronation Chicken Sandwich, about to be enjoyed by your humble blogger. 

It’s also normal to find pre-made pots of these sort of sandwich fillings in grocery stores, because the effort of boiling an egg and mashing it with some mayonnaise is just too much for some people. These are the same people who buy pre-packaged jacket potatoes wrapped in tinfoil and those little containers of cubed melon. Astute Go Stay Work Play Live Readers be warned - these are not your people! Stay well away from them and their melon cubes and their accompanying tiny non-functional plastic forks. (Note: This does not apply to Cheese & Onion sandwich filling, which is excellent and which I never eat by the spoonful straight from the pot.)

Pots of sandwich filling. Oddly. it's much easier to find Coronation Chicken as a sandwich filler than as a sandwich. 

Because the simple mayo-curry-raisin version of Coronation Chicken is so common, I was surprised to discover just how complex the original recipe was. Starting with two whole young roasting chickens and a bouquet garni including 3-4 (but never more!) peppercorns, to which was added the “cream of curry sauce”. It must have seemed the height of sophistication in 1953. The sauce does indeed include mayonnaise (3/4 of a pint of it!) along with onion, curry powder, tomato pureé, red wine, apricot pureé and, of course, whipped cream. Followed up with “a little extra whipped cream”. (Full recipe here) There is poaching, sautéing, boiling, simmering, straining and mixing involved. And that doesn’t even include making the “simple rice salad” on top of which the chicken and cream of curry sauce originally sat. I suppose it’s not unusual to go to such efforts for a coronation banquet, but for the Go Stay Work Play Live version, I cut to the chase and based my efforts on a much simpler and more modern version, with my usual cavalier (inherited) approach to amounts and method. (It's the Shakespearean approach.)

So without further ado:

Go Stay Work Play Live Coronation Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poached and roughly chopped
Mayonnaise, about 1/4 cup
Plain yogurt, about 1/4 cup
Mango Chutney, about 3 tbsp
Raisins, as many as you want
Chopped dried apricots, fewer than the raisins
Curry Powder to taste
Cinnamon, a little bit
Cumin, also a little bit
Black Pepper, whatever

Mix all of the sauce ingredients, then combine with the chicken

I enjoyed part of my home made Coronation Chicken on a toasted bagel. Nicely toasted bagels are a relatively new thing on the Lucky Nickel, since I was given a more efficient stovetop toaster carried all the way from Chile by the Boat Maintenance Division's visiting parents.

Here's the imported toastadora in action. It's great! I'm not sure why it's so much better than the other stovetop toaster I've got. Maybe the solid base distributes the heat better. Plus it's physically bigger, so it accommodates both halves of the bagel at once. It's great!

Coronation Chicken on a toasted bagel. Yummy lunch.

I was quite pleased with how my homemade Coronation Chicken turned out. It's a little more exotic than a common-or-garden chicken salad, and would be very nice on a picnic. Or, of course, for the next time you're catering a coronation banquet.