Diasporic Dining: The Decline of Hen

 

The Hen That Laid the Golden Eggs by Gaston Velle (1905)

 

“Split the lark--and you’ll find the Music” The Emily Dickinson lines are not part of a recipe. But you may remember not so long a ago when you’d split a couple of hens and throw them on the grill, complemented by say yellow rice. Now you’re more likely to invite the self-same guest—not someone who earned another arcane, but expensive dish like Chateaubriand—for thighs, of chicken that is since a hen’s would be nothing to write home about. But “Where Have all the Flowers Gone?” to invoke Pete Seeger. Go to your local supermarket and ask for the hen section. A store clerk may point you towards the “poultry” counter simply because a hen is a kind of chicken. During the pandemic the supply chain has been disrupted in many areas. Most recently baby formula was hard to come by. Could it be that all the hens are busy laying eggs?

read "Diasporic Dining: The Running Footman" by Francis Levy, HuffPost

and listen to "Do the Funky Chicken" by Rufus Thomas