Orgasmic Chef

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One Amazing Chicken

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stuffedchickenthighandleggThis past weekend was the Real Food Festival in Maleny. Last year I volunteered both days and one day was a double shift without one minute for lunch or even a cup of tea. I decided that this year I needed to go to the festival and enjoy myself and that’s just what I did.

cameronandkacey

The first event was my chef/hero Cameron Matthews, head chef and manager at The Long Apron restaurant at Spicer’s Clovelly Estate in Montville. You might remember that my sister and I attended Cameron’s Italian cooking class last year. We’ve seen each other around and his wife Leanne is a brilliant food stylist and she did a presentation at the same photo workshop I did last year.

The truth is, this guy can cook. He’s studied, practiced, studied some more, learned from brilliant chefs and cooks and then practiced some more. He’s not full of himself and the best bit is how funny he is. I think he’d be brilliant with his own TV show. Great food and a lot of laughs – my kind of food TV.

chicken

Cameron shared the stage with Kacey Walker, owner of Walker Farm Foods where they raise dairy cows, free range chickens and free range eggs. Kacey brought a chicken that looked just like this one because I bought this just after the show. It’s the size of a small turkey but it’s not an old bird. My chicken ate grass and bugs and ran around and had a nurturing life at the Walkers and that makes me very happy. Cameron showed us how to make a chicken ballotine or a stuffed chicken leg and thigh and he served it with a mushroom sauce.

These chickens are a lot more expensive than what I can buy in the grocery store but the taste is no comparison whatsoever. This chicken tastes like well… chicken. It’s full of flavor and there’s enough meat on one bird for John and I to have 5 meals and they aren’t leftover meals. To start with, I boned the chicken. Yeah, that wing tip ended up with Charlie but the stock won’t suffer too badly. He was very happy.

stuffingachickenthighandleg

Then I followed Cameron’s instructions on how to bone a chicken thigh and leg and stuff it with sausage. I’ll admit that he did it much better than I did and his knife was WAY sharper than mine was. I think it’s time to visit the knife sharpener. Still, I got the job done. Watch the video and for this recipe, you’d pull that leg bone right out. No lollypop.

poached

You can stuff the chicken with just about anything you like. I stuffed mine with sausage, poking the sausage meat down the hole where the leg bone used to live. I wrapped the whole thing up in cling film and used twisty ties at both ends. I gently poached the chicken roll for about 20 minutes and then heated the oven to 200C and roasted it until the skin turned golden brown.

chickenroll

While it was roasting I sauteed some mushrooms in some butter and then added some chicken stock and cooked that down and then added cream. When it looked thick enough for sauce I whizzed it with a stick blender.

chickenroll2

After a few minutes of resting the chicken, I sliced it and served it with the best potatoes I’ve cooked in a long time. I’ll share those next time.

5.0 from 6 reviews
Stuffed Chicken Leg and Thigh, Ballotine
 
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This isn't a quick dish to make but it's oh so worth it.
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Australian
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Chicken Roll
  • 1 large chicken leg and thigh connected. (Chicken Maryland in Australia, Ballotine)
  • ¾ cup stuffing (I used sausage)
  • Chicken stock for poaching
Mushroom sauce
  • 25 grams butter
  • 4 large button mushrooms, sliced
  • a few dried mushrooms (porcini would be good)
  • a few oyster or other mushrooms, chopped (if button is all you have, it will be enough)
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • ¾ cup cream
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Debone chicken leg and thigh. (See Video)
  2. Place stuffing in the leg hole and in the thigh and roll to close.
  3. Wrap in cling film and twist ends and fasten with a twist tie.
  4. Heat to a low simmer enough chicken stock to cover the number of chicken rolls you want to make. There needs to be enough stock to cover the roll.
  5. Place chicken roll (still inside the cling film) into the chicken stock and poach gently for 20 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 200C/400F
  7. Remove from the stock and remove the cling film and dry the skin with paper towel.
  8. Place chicken roll in a greased baking tray and place in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
  9. Rest for 10 minutes and gently cut into generous slices.
  10. Serve with mushroom sauce.
Mushroom Sauce
  1. Place butter in a small saucepan and place on the heat. Once butter begins to melt, add the mushrooms and cook on medium heat until the mushrooms begin to release their liquid.
  2. Add the stock and the cream and cook until the mixture begins to thicken.
  3. Remove from heat and whiz with a stick blender until smooth.
  4. Test for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Serve the chicken slices with the mushroom sauce.
  6. Drizzle with a bit of good olive oil just before serving.
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This is the first use of the chicken. Next I made chicken stock with the carcass and then chicken soup. John’s dad is coming for lunch tomorrow and he’ll love it. We’ll serve some of those brioche rolls with it too.

soup

 

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Comments

  2. The Real Food Festival sounds like it was an awesome experience – glad you got to enjoy it this time! I watched that video Maureen and I am flabbergasted! I see me loosing a finger or two in the process! But you did a fantastic job – that chicken looks perfect! Looking forward to that potato recipe!

    Reply

  3. Hi Maureen, never heard of Cameron Matthews before but if he can cook and make people laugh that would be a real hit TV show, best of both worlds. Beautiful stuffed chicken and chicken soup you made, John’s dad will love it!

    Reply

  4. Love your happy chicken dish, Maureen. Bet it tasted all the better for its good life. The leg and thigh (in my opinion) are the tastiest parts of the chicken and you’ve made something you could charge a lot for in a restaurant. It looks amazing!

    Thanks for the intro to a chef who is new to me.

    Reply

  9. Been checking out your bucket list, a bit of a sweet tooth Maureen?
    I’ve put on 10 kilos just reading it! Good luck and congrats on the new site.

    Reply

  12. Love the new header and layout Maureen! Mine is taking forever so I’ve been offline for ages and I’m missing being around. I spied the potatoes you put on Instagram on the plate -they sounded amazing too:)

    Reply

  13. G’day! What a great experience Maureen and one I am glad this year your were able to also enjoy!
    Recipes look great and being very much under the weather, would love some chicken soup!
    Cheers! Joanne

    Reply

  14. Love the new look! Also love this chicken. What fun to see it done and then go home and do it! It looks great, but those potatoes look pretty good, too!

    Reply

  22. I love the new look of your blog, Maureen. I’m so glad that this year you just went along to enjoy yourself – it sounds like last year you were a slave! The chicken you bought does sound like it had a very happy life and ate well. I so prefer to buy these kinds of chickens as there’s been no animal cruelty and they’re so much better for us. If you can get five meals out of a good bird like this, then I’m sure in the end it works out being a very good investment. I’m super-impressed with how you managed to extract the leg bone and stuffing the hole with sausage is a wonderful idea and your meal looks like something from an award-winning restaurant. I want to try this! I hope you’ve enjoyed EDB and I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be there xx

    Reply

  25. The size of a small turkey? Our chickens are maybe a kilo but usually less! I’d gladly pay for a bird that tastes like a bird! If have to stuff 4 thighs for two people.

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  26. A really good chicken is SO worth the money, isn’t it! Not that we can always afford them, but when we can, they’re great value for money, especially if you can get five meals out of it! Love the look of this dish, M! xxx

    Reply

  27. Your chicken sounds terrific…I love the idea of stuffing it with sausage. And I can’t wait to see how you made your potatoes….they look terrific, too!

    Reply

  34. Glad you got to go tho the festival this year I remember you worked very hard last year. This is a delicious looking dish maureen made from a chicken that has had a happy life. I never really thought anyone would want to know how to bone a chicken out, it seems I take for granted knowing these things. The video is great Maureen simply and expertly demonstrated

    Reply

  35. I am soooo tempted! You know, I tried doing this (without the benefit of a video instructing me) and the result was a very unhappy Sally and a very badly butchered chicken. Not a nice combination, I can tell you that much

    you did it like a pro, congratulations!

    Reply

  37. That’s really one amazing piece of chicken, i love all the elements here.
    And the deboning, I love doing them and we have a nearly similar recipe where chicken is also deboned and stuffed.

    Reply

  38. Great new look Maureen! I’ve always seen people that can debone a chicken, then make a dish like this as having lots and lots of patience! This is an amazing dish!

    Reply

  39. Hi, Maureen, I love the new look of your site! And this chicken dish really is amazing, especially with the sausage. But, I can’t see me de-boning a chicken, I almost lost a finger on my new mandolin.

    Reply

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