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Posted by on Mar 11, 2011 in Chicken, Featured, Mains, Recipes | 1 comment

The Ultimate Roast Chicken Stuffing

The Ultimate Roast Chicken Stuffing

There are few foods as satisfying as a good roast chicken. Aside from a few twists and tweaks you can add, it is also pretty straightforward and the simplest methods to make a roast chicken are usually the best. I have read volumes on how to roast the best chicken, but seriously why complicate something so simple and so rewarding?

I did, however, decide to complicate things a little last week. I was training two lovely ladies on how to roast a chicken perfectly and wanted to spice things up a bit.

I have never personally made a roast chicken with stuffing before as it is not a South African tradition. But as I had leftover bread which had dried out it seemed like roast chicken stuffing was an obvious addition to the menu.

I surfed around the net a bit for ideas but decided on a very simple roast chicken stuffing which was easy to make from the ingredients I had in the cupboard. It was UNBELIEVABLE!!!! I can’t believe it has taken me so long to discover a roast chicken stuffing recipe.

Come on South African, the whole of America is nuts about it, why doesn’t everyone make it here? I will go as far as to say I will never roast a chicken without stuffing ever again. In fact, I think I will be roasting chicken just so that I can enjoy the stuffing again!

I had also made far too much stuffing to fit inside the chicken so I made little balls of it and placed it around the chicken about 30 minutes before the bird was cooked and they sucked up the flavor of the cooking juices… wow!

Okay – enough already. Just try it and thank me later.

Stuffing is not a very South African thing so I used to make my roast chicken au natural. However, after trying this roast chicken stuffing recipe I will never go without it again!

Roast chicken stuffing with herbs

Enough to stuff one chicken and leftover to make “stuffing balls” or enough for two whole chickens

3 cups of dried bread crumbs (I recommend using leftover specialty bread, like rye, spelt, ciabatta, sourdough, etc. – dried and crumbled in a food processor)

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

¼ cup of fresh herbs, finely chopped – I used rosemary, sage, thyme, and basil

¼ of a cup of Mrs. Balls Chutney

2 eggs

1 cup of chicken or veg stock

1 tsp of salt

½ tsp of freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp of cold butter, chopped into little pieces

Combine all of the above ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until it forms a loose dough or paste-like texture. Stuff your chicken and roast in a roasting pan which has enough room for you to add the stuffing balls later.

30 minutes before your chicken should be ready, take it out the oven and place balls of stuffing about the size of golf balls all around the roasting pan. Roast for a further 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and spoon some of the cooking juices over the stuffing balls before serving.

Roast chicken recipe:

½ a cup of salt

½ a cup of sugar

1 whole free-range chicken

2 Tbsp of soft butter

2 tsp of crushed garlic

1 tsp of lemon zest

1 Tbsp of lemon juice

½ a cup of fresh herbs, picked and chopped (parsley, oregano, thyme, basil)

1 tsp of salt

1 Tbsp of olive oil

Pre-heat your oven to 200˚C and place the rack in the lower half of the oven.

Wash the chicken and soak it for an hour submerged in one liter of cold water, with half a cup of salt and half a cup of sugar dissolved in it. Remove the chicken from the water and pat it dry with kitchen paper from the inside and out.

Make a paste by combining the butter, garlic, lemon, herbs, and salt. Loosen the skin of the chicken over the breast meat by putting your fingers between the flesh and the skin, freeing the connective tissue. Loosen the skin right over the breast meat and legs. Flip the chicken and do the same with the skin over the thighs. The skin is less stretchy here, so be careful not to tear it.

Dot balls of the herb paste under the skin and gently press them flat with your fingers over the skin, evenly coating the whole chicken. Rub the skin with a little oil and sprinkle it with a salt.

Place it in a small roasting pan, breast side up. Roast for about 45 minutes to an hour turning the chicken every 15 minutes.
(Don’t forget to add your roast chicken stuffing balls 30 minutes before the chicken is done!)
If this skin is not golden and crispy, turn on the grill for a few minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven, covered with a lid and allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes. Carve and serve.

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Stuffing is not a very South African thing so I used to make my roast chicken au natural. However, after trying this roast chicken stuffing recipe I will never go without it again!

Stuffing is not a very South African thing so I used to make my roast chicken au natural. However, after trying this roast chicken stuffing recipe I will never go without it again!

1 Comment

  1. Please email me stuffing recipe! I never want to eat chicken without stuffing ever again too!!

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