Roast Chicken with sausage stuffing

Lovely, golden crispy skinned roast chicken - moist and delicious with loads of stuffing always goes down a treat. It's also super simple and feeds a crowd. 



For my family the stuffing is more popular than the chicken. Stuffing is a cheap and tasty way to make the meal go further. The basic recipe is simple and classic but can be made posher with a few easy adjustments. 

Ingredients
1 medium sized whole chicken
450grams sausage meat (either in a package or take the skins off sausages of your choice - remember to adjust other flavours if you choose a spicy or very flavour full sausage)
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs (place 2-4 slices bread in the food processor and pulse until breadcrumbs are evenly sized)
1 egg
1 lemon 
1 onion
Large handful fresh sage (or herb of your choice thyme, tarragon, oregano all work well) or 1-2tsp of dried herbs of your choice. 
Salt and pepper to season

Bacon, dried fruit, nuts, peppers, mushrooms or other fresh fruit can also be added. 

Method
Place bread crumbs in a large bowl. 

Place quartered onion and lemon (skin and all) with herbs in the food processor and process until very finely chopped. 

Process nuts, dried fruits and any other ingredients in the same way. An apple or orange can be used in place of the lemon. 

Place in the bowl with the breadcrumbs. 
Add the sausage meat, egg and seasoning and mix well (hands work best)

Prepare the chicken for stuffing:
Remove all packaging. Wash and dry the chicken inside and out and place in a roasting dish. 

At the neck end - trim excess skin and put fingers under the skin to loosen from the breast. Take care not to rip the skin. Take small amounts of stuffing and carefully place between skin and breast. Smooth the stuffing from on top of the skin to make sure it is evenly distributed. Tuck extra skin under the bird. 

Fill the cavity with stuffing - it's ok to have a bit of an overflow. 

Place any extra stuffing on baking paper and roll like a bonbon. 

Tuck the wings under the bird. Tie the legs together on top. 

Rub with cooking oil and sprinkle with salt. 
Roast at 180C until golden and the juices run clear. Add 20-30 minutes to cooking time of an unstuffed chicken to ensure it will be fully cooked through. 

Place the stuffing bonbon in to bake about 30 minutes before the end of cooking. 

The stuffing on the breast will make the skin quite dark - tin foil can be placed over the breast to avoid this if preferred. 
Scoop out the stuffing and carve the stuffing on the breast. Serve with roast potatoes, gravy and seasonal vegetables or salad.





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