Granny's Deviled Chicken

I am a person who likes to use up all of my leftovers. I have always been that way. My mother always said I was a magician with my leftovers because I always managed to make them taste just as good as the original meal if not better.
I suppose there is a knack to it. I guess it is all down to knowing what flavors and textures go together. I don't find my leftovers to be boring at all. In fact I often like the leftovers more than the original meal!
Granny's Deviled Chicken

This deviled chicken recipe I am sharing with you today uses leftover cooked chicken. On or off the bone. You could also use it for leftover turkey or pheasant. It goes good with any kind of poultry.
What I love about it is that it goes together very quickly and easily. You can have this tasty dish sitting on the table in less than half an hour which makes it perfect for those nights when you are rushed off your feet but you still want to (or need to!) get a tasty meal on the table in quick time!
Granny's Deviled Chicken

The original recipe comes from this cookbook that was gifted to me by a dear friend the other day. It is a book that I had in the UK, but was unable to bring back to Canada with me.
She surprised me with my very own new copy of it and what can I say, it moved me to tears! I was so pleased to get it.
The Good Granny Cookbook, by Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall. She is the mother of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall who is a very popular cook over in the UK, having hosted the River Cottage series on the television over there.
Granny's Deviled Chicken

Thank you so much Ginny. This was a very well thought out and thoughtful gift. I so appreciate it and you should know that I will get a lot of use from it.
Point being I have only had it for two days and am already cooking from it!
If you, my readers, can get your hands on a copy of it, I highly recommend it. It is a simple book. There are no photographs in it, but it is filled to overflowing with excellent recipes for robust, nostalgic and wholesome food!
Granny's Deviled Chicken

This recipe I am sharing is a very simple one. The original recipe didn't really give quantities or temperatures at all. (Kind of like the recipes in Grandma's notebook!) I figured it out and am sharing exactly what I did.
You begin with pieces of cooked chicken. You want to keep them a bit on the large size. I used two legs and breast cut in half. You can leave the skin on or off as you please.
Granny's Deviled Chicken

The pieces of chicken are placed into a baking dish and a spicy paste of brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and butter is spread over top of it.
This is then baked in a moderate oven until heated through and glazed. Easy peasy, lemon squeasy and oh so delicious!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE GRANNY'S DEVILED CHICKEN
These are simple store cupboard ingredients, but then again, that's how granny cooked! There is no pretense here! Five simple ingredients including the chicken.

Cooked chicken in large pieces (can also use turkey) (enough for two people)
1/4 cup (55g) butter, room temperature
1 1/2 TBS Dijon mustard
1 TBS soft light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

I used regular salted butter. As I have said before I don't keep any other kind. It was at room temperature.
The brown sugar is just what you have for baking. I packed it tightly into the spoon.
The original recipe called for English mustard, which is very hot. I didn't have any of that so I used Dijon mustard in its place, which also has a bit of heat. You could use a grainy one for a bit of texture if you wanted to.
Worcestershire sauce. Such a fun word to pronounce. "Wooster-sher" That's the proper way.

HOW TO MAKE GRANNY'S DEVILED CHICKEN
As I said nothing could be easier. Just mix the deviled ingredients into a paste, spread it on the chicken and bake. It may look a bit curdled, but that's okay. It will all melt together.
If the look of it being curdled bothers you I would suggest heating the ingredients and whisking them into a homogenous mixture and then drizzling it over the chicken. This would work very well.
Make sure you make some deep cuts in the chicken so that the mixture gets down into the meat and flavors it beautifully. This is finger licking good, I promise you!
Granny's Deviled Chicken

She had suggested eating it with mashed potatoes. This isn't the season for potatoes for mashing and so I just quickly baked a small russet potato in the microwave and served it with some butter, salt and black pepper.
I took the lazy way out today and heated up some frozen vegetables. Cauliflower and broccoli in cheese sauce. Altogether it was very good!
Granny's Deviled Chicken

Here are some other quick, easy and delicious ways to use up leftover cooked poultry:
Easy BBQ Chicken Tostadas - Crisp charred Tortillas topped with a delicious mix of shredded leftover cooked chicken, spicy chipotle paste, BBQ sauce and cheese.

Baked until the cheese melts and drizzled with more BBQ sauce and some chopped spring onions. All you need is a salad on the side!Chicken Dinner Poutine - Crisp chips, melting cheese, chicken, gravy, stuffing and peas. This is such a simple thing and yet the flavors are amazing. If you are a fan of the Canadian dish called Poutine, then you best prepare yourself to fall in love because this is one of the tastiest versions I have ever eaten! Its like a deconstructed chicken pot pie without the crust and there's fries. Yummy delicious fries.Amish Chicken & Stuffing Casserole -This is one of my absolute all time favorite chicken casseroles. Not only is is a great way to use up stale bread, but you can also use up leftover cooked chicken or even turkey, or you can cook chicken specifically just to use in it. Stale bread, butter softened celery and onion, a variety of herbs, seasoning and tender poached chicken. Delicious!