Baked Stuffed Chicken

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

The birth of this dish came about when we were trying to put together bacon, butter, cheese and chicken into one dish. A quick search on the internet came up with a stuffed chicken recipe that was both simple as well as tasty. However, given my penchant for making any recipe a bit more personal, I tweaked the recipe once again until I came up with a winning formula. By then, the butter and cheese bits were no longer included in the recipe. This was a big hit during my Christmas lunch celebration with family and friends and for the literary folks, it has a bit of 50 shades thrown in for good measure. I should really call this dish 50 Shades of Poultry but then again, I better not.

A few things to keep in mind if you plan to try this dish are: one, learn how to partially debone a chicken. By partial, I meant leaving the drumstick intact. It saves you time when baking it and two, you need to learn how to sew and tie up a chicken. No worries however, as both can be easily learned and once perfected, it will only take about 15 minutes to debone a chicken and stuff it with any filling that suits your fancy.

Baked Stuffed Chicken

2 2-lb whole chicken, deboned
1 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 cup brown rice, cooked
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp Herbes de Provence
8 strips of bacon, diced
salt and pepper

1. In a skillet over medium high heat, brown the bacon. Once browned,
    remove to a plate and set aside. 

2. In the same skillet, saute the onions and garlic in the bacon drippings. 
    Season with salt and pepper and cook until softened. Let cool. 

3. Prepare the filling by adding the cooked rice, crisped bacon, parsley and 
    bread crumbs with the sauteed onions and garlic. Mix well. 

4. Season the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Stuff with half the
    filling and secure both ends of the chicken with a twine. Further secure
    the chicken with more twine to retain the shape of a whole chicken. Do 
    the same for the second bird.

5. Set both birds in a baking pan cut side down and season with more salt 
    and pepper. Drizzle enough olive oil to baste the chicken. Sprinkle the 
    Herbes de Provence and bake in a preheated oven at 375°F for about 
    an hour or until the skin is golden brown.

6. Let rest for about 5 minutes before carving.