A different way to go about your roast chicken dinner. Super delicious, succulent chicken, stuffed with wild garlic and smoked lardo. You’ll soon be casting your eye around for the next thing to bone and roll!
Cooking meat and fish on the bone is often what is advised, but sometimes, just occasionally, it is fun to do something different. Like boning out a chicken, stuffing it with things that it loves to be eaten with — namely wild garlic and smoked pork fat, then rolling it up, browning the skin, basting it in butter and roasting. Just listing the process and ingredients instantly stimulates the culinary senses.
The stuffing is going to serve the dual purpose of keeping the bird moist during cooking and also imparting all those additional flavours into the flesh. You just know it is going to be absolutely delicious.
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the mash
For the gravy
Method
- Remove the chicken from the fridge and its packaging and season well with fine sea salt. Leave to sit and come up to room temperature for about an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Set a cast-iron skillet over a high heat and add the tablespoon of oil. Place the chicken in the pan and begin to brown off the skin, rotating the chicken regularly. Reduce the heat if it seems too high at any point.
- Once the chicken is nicely browned, add a knob of butter and begin to baste the bird.
- Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Then remove, baste the bird and rotate by 90°. Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes, aiming for an internal temperature of 69°C (which will increase to around 72°C after resting).
- Remove from the oven and rest for about 30 minutes.
For the mash:
- Cut the potatoes into evenly sized chunks and put them in a pan, with a handful of salt and then cover with cold water. Set over a high heat and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked.
- Drain the potatoes into a colander and cover with a tea towel. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
- In a small pan, melt the butter with the cream and milk.
- Push the potatoes through a potato ricer back into the pan they were cooked in. Once all the potato has gone through the ricer, add about half of the dairy and beat vigorously over a very low heat with a wooden spoon. Once combined, add the remaining dairy in stages, beating after each addition. All potatoes are different, so be prepared to add more milk or cream if they need loosening further.
- Check for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
To make the gravy:
- Remove the chicken from the skillet it was cooked in, leaving the juices behind. Place the skillet over a medium heat and add the wine. Bring to a simmer and reduce for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the flour and whisk together. Then add the hot stock gradually, whisking as you add.
- Once all the stock is added, allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Add the wild garlic leaves and a splash of vinegar and taste — adjust the seasoning as necessary.
- Give the chicken 5 minutes back in the oven, to come back up to temperature, before carving.
