CROTCH POT RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 300 degrees. Prepare the pig: Wash it, including the cavity, under cold running water, and towel-dry thoroughly, the way you would dry a small child after a bath — ears, armpits, chest cavity, face, legs, backs of knees.
• Sometimes there are imperfections remaining after the slaughtering and processing of the animal. Use dish towels or sturdy paper towels to rub away any dark spots on the ears, any little bit of remaining bristles around the mouth. Like that yellow, papery flaking skin you sometimes find on chickens, which can be peeled off to reveal tender, fresh skin underneath, a similar bit of crud can remain on pigs’ chins and under their belly flaps. Clean this little cutie as if you were detailing your car! The purple U.S.D.A. stamp, however, is indelible. But not inedible.
• Bard the pig with all 20 garlic cloves, making deep incisions all over with a thin filleting knife and shoving the cloves into each pocket; include the cheeks and the neck and the rump and the thighs and the loin down the back and the front shoulders, all areas of the small creature that have enough flesh to be able to receive a clove of garlic. (Sometimes I find I have to slice the larger cloves of garlic in half to get them to slide into the incision.)
• Rub the entire pig in oil exactly as you would apply suntan oil to a sunbathing goddess of another era, when people still were ignorant of the harmful effects of the sun. Massage and rub and get the whole creature slick and glistening. I do this directly in a very large roasting pan.
• Wash and dry your hands. Take large pinches of kosher salt, and raising your arm high above the pig, rain down the salt in an even, light dusting all over. You can start with the pig on its back and get the cavity and the crotch, and then turn it over and get the back and the head and flanks. Or vice versa. But in the end, the whole animal is salted evenly and lightly, snout to tail.
• Arrange the pig in the roasting pan, spine up, rear legs tucked under, with feet pointing toward its ears and its two front legs out ahead in front. Sometimes the pig needs a sharp, sturdy, confident chiropractic crack on its arching spine, just to settle it in comfortably to the roasting pan, so it won’t list to one side or topple over.
• Put the potato deep into its mouth, and place in the oven, on the bottom rack, and roast slowly for about 4 to 5 hours, depending on the size of your pig. (Plan 15 minutes of roasting time per pound of pig; if you have a 20-pounder, then you’d need about 5 hours total cooking time.) Add a little water to the roasting pan along the way if you see the juices are in danger of scorching, and loosely tent the animal with aluminum foil in vulnerable spots — ears, snout, arc of back — if you see them burning. For the last half-hour, raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees, and cook until the skin gets crisp and even blistered, checking every 10 minutes.
• Tap on it with your knuckle to hear a kind of hollow sound, letting you know the skin has inflated and separated from the interior flesh; observe splitting of the skin at knuckles — all good signs the pig is done. Or use a meat thermometer inserted deep in the neck; the pig is ready at 160 degrees. Let rest 45 minutes before serving.
• Remove the potato, and replace it with the apple. Transfer the pig to a large platter; nestle big bouquets of herbs around the pig as garnish. Save pan juices, and use for napping over the pulled meat when serving.

Steps:

• Remove neck, gizzards and any other parts that might be inside the bird.
• Rinse the bird, inside and outside, under cool running water.
• Cut the chicken into pieces
• Place cut chicken in a large stock pot, cover with about 6 inches of water.
• Place on Medium-High heat and let come to a boil.
• Boil chicken about 45-55 minutes or until done.
• Remove chicken from water, place pieces in a pan to cool. Do not discard the water in the pot.
• Turn the heat off under the pot while the chicken is cooling.
• Allow chicken to cool enough to handle and remove chicken from bones.
• Skim as much fat as possible that has surfaced in the stock pot. Discard the fat.
• Remove ¾ cup of broth from the pot and set aside. You’ll need it to make the dough.
• Place the bones back in the pot and add water to cover about 2 inches.
• Let simmer on Medium-Low heat while you make the pastry dough.
• In a medium bowl, add flour and one teaspoon of salt. Sift together.
• Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the ¾ cup of the chicken broth.
• Mix together until you have a slightly moist dough ball.
• Generously flour your table, countertop or large cutting board.
• Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thick.
• Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife and cut the dough into strips about 1 inch wide.
• Cut each strip into sections about 2 inches long.
• Let the dough pieces rest for about 30 minutes to dry out some.
• Remove the chicken bones from the stock pot.
• If needed, add enough water to equal about one gallon of liquid in the pot.
• Add chicken base or granules as needed to create a good tasting broth.
• Bring the chicken stock to a low boil and drop pieces of dough, one by one, into the stock.
• Try not to drop dough pieces on top of each other and DO NOT STIR.
• Add the shredded pieces of chicken to the pot.
• Add Black Pepper to taste.
• Test the pastry before adding any additional salt. Add salt if needed and stir gently.
• Simmer for about 15 minutes until dough pieces are fully cooked and tender.
• Serve warm and enjoy.