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Indulge your holiday crowd with two crispy stuffed chickens.
One has a traditional potato, apple and sausage stuffing,
the other a cornbread, dried cherry and cashew stuffing. Try
pressing fresh sage leaves under the carefully loosened skin
of one chicken and thyme beneath the breast skin of the other
before cooking. It looks and tastes amazing!
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| Preparation Time: |
1 hour |
| Cooking Time: |
1-1/2 to 2 hours |
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Serves 8 to 10 |
| 2 |
whole Ontario Chickens - each 4 lb (1.75 kg) |
| 4 |
each peeled and halved lengthwise Ontario
Carrots and Parsnips |
STUFFING BASE MIXTURE:
| 2 tbsp (25 mL) |
olive oil |
| 2 |
chopped Ontario Onions |
| 4 |
sliced stalks celery |
| 6 |
minced cloves Ontario Garlic |
| 2 |
2 tart peeled, cored and diced Ontario
Apples |
| 1 tbsp (15 mL) |
grated orange peel |
| 1/2 cup (125 mL) |
orange juice |
| 3/4 cup (175 mL) |
chopped fresh herbs (combination of sage,
thyme and parsley) |
In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add
onions and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes, stirring
occasionally. Add celery, garlic, apples and cook about 5
minutes more. Add orange peel, juice and herbs. Cook until
most of the liquid evaporates. Divide mixture into 2 large
bowls. Set aside.
POTATO, MUSHROOM AND SAUSAGE STUFFING for the First Chicken
| 2 |
large Italian style sausages
(sweet or hot), removed from casing and cooked until browned |
| 1/2 cup (125 mL) |
dry packaged bread crumbs |
| 1 |
large peeled and coarsely grated (uncooked)
Ontario Potato |
| 1 cup (250 mL) |
thinly sliced Ontario Mushrooms |
| 1 cup (250 mL) |
chicken stock |
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salt and pepper |
Add cooked sausage, dry packaged bread crumbs, potato and
mushrooms to one bowl of the reserved stuffing base. Add chicken
stock and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper.
CORNBREAD, DRIED CHERRY AND CASHEW STUFFING for the Second
Chicken
| 2/3 cup (150 mL) |
dried cherries |
| 1/2 cup (125 mL) |
hot Earl Grey tea or water |
| 1 cup (250 mL) |
salted cashews |
| 2 cups (500 mL) |
cubed, day-old cornbread |
| 1 cup (250 mL) |
chicken stock |
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salt and pepper |
Soak cherries in tea to soften, about 5 minutes, drain and
discard liquid. Add cherries, cashews and cornbread cubes
to the other bowl of reserved stuffing base. Add chicken stock
and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Lightly oil a large
roasting pan that will fit both chickens. Arrange carrots
and parsnips in pan. Stuff cavity of one chicken with one
stuffing, the other chicken with the other stuffing. Put remaining
stuffings side by side in a nonstick loaf pan. Place in oven
beside or underneath roasting pan. Place chickens on vegetables
in roasting pan. Roast 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until the leg separates
easily from the thigh - temperature of thigh is 180ºF
(80ºC). Baste chickens occasionally and moisten stuffing
in loaf pan with juices as it browns. Remove stuffing from
chickens immediately, cover birds with foil then pile on several
towels to hold in the heat, allowing juices to settle in the
meat and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before carving. Remove
carrots and parsnips from roasting pan to another shallow
metal pan, return to oven to crisp. Remove fat from pan drippings
and use remaining drippings to make gravy.
Note: To stuff fresh sage or thyme leaves under the
chicken skin, use fingers to gently lift skin from the meat
and carefully insert the leaves.
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