The Chicken Dish Abraham Lincoln Enjoyed Happens To Be Perfect For Your Slow Cooker

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Abraham Lincoln is one of the most iconic U.S. presidents, known for his top hat, slim figure, and one-of-a-kind beard. But have you ever thought about the food he ate that maintained that lanky body of his or got stuck in his facial hair? Back in the 1860s when Lincoln was president, it's not like White House chefs were whipping up hamburgers. However, they were cooking appetizing meals. In fact, one of the president's favorites was chicken fricassee. 

Apparently, getting Abe to eat at all was a bit of a feat, unless there was chicken fricassee involved or Mary Todd made him a cake. According to Ruth Painter Randall, author of "Mary Lincoln: Portrait of a Marriage," per Mr. Lincoln's White House, Mrs. Lincoln specifically asked the cook to prepare "fricasseed chicken and small biscuits with thick cream gravy poured all over it, all on one platter." The cook obliged, and it was such a hit with the president that he had three helpings.

Chicken fricassee is a French dish of sauteed then slow-cooked chicken thighs with vegetables like onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms in a sauce made of wine, broth, cream, flour, and spices. Its quintessential element is the beurre manié, a mixture of equal parts butter and flour, added towards the end for a silky finish. It's a deceptively simple dish but with rich, luxurious flavors. Today, it's ultra easy to prepare a version of chicken fricassee in a slow cooker, even though that piece of equipment wasn't exactly at Lincoln's kitchen staff's disposal.

If you're making Crockpot chicken fricassee, take the time to sear your chicken thighs on both sides before they go in the slow cooker. This will develop the flavor of the chicken and give the skins a beautiful color and crispy texture. Another important step is to saute the vegetables before adding all the ingredients to the crockpot. This tenderizes them, strips away the raw flavor, and brings out the sweetness in the onions and carrots.

As for that beurre manié we talked about earlier, in order to make it properly, mix equal parts softened butter and all-purpose flour until it forms a paste. Unlike a roux, do not cook the mixture in a pan until the butter melts and the flour browns. Instead you add the beurre manié directly to the slow cooker with some heavy cream and pearl onions, after the chicken, veggies, and broth have already stewed for a couple of hours. 

If there's one thing we can say about chicken fricassee, it's that we understand why it was such a well-loved staple of Abe Lincoln's diet. It's a downright presidential dinner.