A good roasted chicken isn’t just for Sundays, although I love a Sunday roasted chicken. During the week, by splitting the chicken in half and laying it on top of a loose stuffing-like layer, you can have all the aromas and flavours of autumn in half the cooking time. What I like best about making faux stuffing (faux because it’s not actually stuffed into anything) is that the bread bits at the bottom of the roasting pan toast up, adding a delectable, caramelized crispy bite here and there when you eat this dish.
Serves 3 to 4
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 75 minutes
2 oz (60 g) pancetta or bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 Tbsp (4 g) chopped fresh sage or 2 tsp dried sage
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup (125 mL) dry white vermouth
3 cups (150 g) diced day-old sourdough bread (some crusts included)
¼ cup (32 g) chopped fresh Italian parsley
Salt and black pepper
4 lb (1.8 kg) whole chicken
Olive oil, for basting the chicken
Paprika, for sprinkling
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Heat a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until it begins to crisp up a little. Add the onions and celery and sauté for about five minutes, until the onions look translucent. Add the sage, thyme and garlic and sauté a further minute. Pour in the vermouth and simmer until the liquid reduces by half.
- Place the cubed bread in a bowl. Add the sautéed vegetables and the parsley and toss well. Season to taste.
- Spoon the stuffing into a roasting pan and divide it into two sections (a chicken half will sit on top of each portion of stuffing).
- Use a sharp butcher’s knife or kitchen shears to split the chicken in half by cutting down either side of the backbone, with the backbone resting on your cutting board. The backbone can be saved for stock. Flip the chicken over to remove the keel bone and cartilage between the two breasts. Run your knife around either side of the keel bone at the base of the cartilage and then use your fingers or a smaller knife to run along the cartilage to loosen it. Use your finger to pop out both the keel bone and cartilage, which you can save or discard. Split the chicken in half between the two breasts and place one half on each portion of stuffing, skin side up.
- Lightly brush or drizzle the chicken with oil, sprinkle with paprika and season with salt and pepper.
- Roast the chicken, uncovered, for about an hour, until an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) is reached when tested inside the thigh and centre of the breast. Serve the chicken on the bone, cutting into smaller pieces, if needed, with the stuffing on the side.
Note:Leftover chicken and stuffing will keep well wrapped in the fridge for up to 2 days.
