Vincent Price’s Famous Chicken Recipe
Lately, I’ve been discovering just how much wisdom is hidden in vintage recipes. So when I came across a heartfelt story about a writer who asked her grandmother to pass down one cherished cookbook before she passed, I felt inspired to explore it myself. It seemed like a legacy worth uncovering.
The book in question? A Treasury of Great Recipes by Vincent Price—the legendary actor famous for his 1950s horror films—and his wife, Mary, whose culinary expertise fills every page. I was surprised to find copies selling online for over $500. Luckily, I managed to track down a few recipe clippings on the internet.
One treasure I found, thanks to the blog Silver Screen Suppers, is what the Price family calls “Friday Chicken.” I knew immediately I had to try it.
“This chicken recipe got its name because it was always made on Friday—cooking and baking day—and then was eaten cold over the weekend,” Price writes in the cookbook. “The seasoned stuffing is placed between the skin and the meat instead of the cavity, giving you a well-flavored bird, a crisp brown skin, and moist, tender meat.”
On a cozy Friday afternoon, I visited my local butcher and bakery to gather ingredients. Without giving too much away, this recipe completely transformed the way I think about roasting chicken—and opened my eyes to a new way to use stuffing.
How To Make Vincent Price’s Friday Chicken
This recipe begins with capone, a type of chicken prized for its tender, juicy, and flavorful meat. Popular starting in the 1940s in the U.S., it often appeared on holiday dinner tables. These days, it’s much harder to find, so I used a whole chicken from the grocery store instead.
Now for the fun part. Most whole chicken recipes suggest lifting the skin and tucking in a bit of compound butter. But Price’s Friday Chicken takes a different approach: a seasoned stuffing goes between the skin and meat rather than inside the cavity.
To make the stuffing, remove the crust from five slices of white bread—or use half a baguette like I did—and place it in a bowl with 1/2 a cup of water. Let it sit for about three minutes, or until the bread softens. Squeeze out any excess moisture, then mix the bread with 1/2 a cup of finely chopped parsley, four lightly-beaten eggs, one teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, one teaspoon of thyme or sage leaves, and one small onion, grated.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. While it heats, gently loosen the skin of the chicken by sliding your fingers over the breast and around the thighs, separating the skin from the meat. Fill the space between the skin and meat with the stuffing, covering the breast and filling the leg pockets.
Place the chicken breast-side up in a shallow roasting pan. Rub it with 1/2 a cup of softened butter and season with one teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Roast for about 45 minutes, basting every 20 minutes. Then, turn the chicken over and roast for another 15 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the breast reads 165 degrees F.
Remove the chicken from the oven, let it rest briefly before carving, and enjoy.
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