Chicken surprise

3 -4 serving

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
3½ pounds Chicken; fryer or broiler
¼ cup Vegetable Oil
1 each Lemon
½ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Pepper
1 teaspoon Paprika
½ pounds Seedless Grapes

Directions

1. Read the entire recipe before doing any other steps. 2. Put on an apron. 3. Wash your hands. 4. Assemble ingredients and equipment. 5.

Check the position of the oven shelf to be sure the Chicken Surprise will fit without touching the top of the oven. Chicken Surprise should be cooked about 4 inches from the bottom of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. It takes about 10 minutes for an oven to heat to the correct temperature. 6. Look inside the chicken. You will see a package that holds the gizzard, the neck, the liver and sometimes the heart. Take the package out, unwrap and put in a covered container in the refrigerator. 7. Wash the chicken under a heavy stream of cold water. Be sure to let water run through the inside of the chicken, too. Pat the chicken dry and set aside. 8.

Place a brown paper bag flat on your work surface. 9. Measure ¼ cup of vegetable oil. 10. Dip your fingers in the oil and use the oil to finger-paint the bag. Finger-paint the front of the bag first. The color will change from light brown to dark brown. 11. Turn the bag over. Finger-paint the back of the bag. 12. Next, finger-paint each side panel. Stand the bag up in the oven-to-table baking dish. (Don't worry if you haven't used all the vegetable oil in finger-painting the bag--some bags need more oil than others.) 13. Wash your hands.

14. Wash 1 lemon under a stream of cold water. Pat dry.

Note: Lemon juice on a small cut or scrape will sting. To stop the sting, wash the cut or scrape under cold water to rinse away the lemon juice.

15. Place the lemon on the cutting board and cut in half with the paring knife.

KNIFE SAFETY RULE: Knives can be dangerous if not used with care. To prevent accidents, ONLY ONE PERSON SHOULD CUT AT A TIME. When someone is using a knife on the cutting board, everyone else should keep their hands away!

16. Rub the chicken all over with 1 lemon half--but do not squeeze the lemon. Set the 2 lemon halves aside to use in step 21. 17.

Spread a 12 inch piece of waxed paper on your work surface. Measure dry ingredients over waxed paper to make clean-up easier. 18. Measure over the waxed paper by mounding and leveling with the table knife and sprinkle all over the chicken: ½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper 19. Fold the waxed paper together carefully so the extra dry ingredients do not scatter, and throw away. 20. Rub the salt and pepper all over the outside of the chicken--the bottom, too-- with your fingers. 21. Stuff the 2 lemon halves inside the chicken. Wash your hands. 22. Hold the strainer over the chicken. Put about 1 teaspoon of paprika (no need to mound and level) into the strainer and dust gently all over the chicken.

23. Put the chicken into the oiled bag with its back on the bottom.

24. Wash ¼ pound of seedless grapes by running cold water over them. Pat dry. 25. Pull the grapes from the stem and drop them into the bag over the chicken. Throw away the stem. 26. Fold the bag. 27.

Clip the bag shut with 4 paper clips or tie loosely with string so the bag cannot flop open. Push the top of the bag down so it will not touch the top of the oven.

28. Put the chicken in the 375 degree oven for 1 hour. 29. After about 30 minutes, listen at the oven door-- you will hear the juices crackling. You can smell the chicken cooking, too. 30. Put the trivet and scissors on the table. 31. After the chicken has cooked for 1 hour, use potholders to remove the baking dish from the oven to the trivet. 32. Turn off the oven. 33. Use a potholder to hold the top of the bag, and cut off the top half with the scissors. DO NOT TOUCH THE PAPER CLIPS--THEY WILL BE HOT! Be careful ~- steam will rise when the bag is cut. 34. Carve and serve the Chicken Surprise from the bag. Spoon grapes over each serving.

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