Roast chicken stuffing recipe

A simple roast chicken stuffing recipe for perfect results every time.

If you're looking for an authentic roast chicken stuffing recipe to serve for the ultimate Sunday lunch, this is it. Crisp, golden skin, tender breast meat, succulent thighs and a delicious, herby stuffing. Some people like their stuffing inside the bird, where it adds flavour to the meat as well as getting basted itself, by the fatty juices that run off the bird. Others prefer it cooked separately so it gets a crunchy outer coating. We've decided to cover all bases and serve it both ways. Covering the breast meat with bacon also adds flavour, and keeps the moisture in the meat. However, we like to remove before the final blast of cooking to get a beautifully browned skin to finish.

Ingredients

• 1 medium whole chicken
• 40g butter
• Salt and pepper, to season
• 6 rashers of streaky bacon
• bunch of sage, for garnish

For the stuffing:

• 50g butter, softened
• 4 large onions, finely chopped
• 10 sage leaves, chopped
• 125g breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5.
2. First, make the stuffing. Melt the butter and add the onions. Gently cook for about 10 mins until the onions are soft. Allow to cool and add the sage, breadcrumbs and season. Add just enough egg to moisten the mixture and leave until ready to use.
3. Stuff the chicken from the neck end, and pack about two-thirds of the stuffing inside. Close the skin over the stuffing and secure it with a cocktail stick or small skewer.
4. Shape the remaining stuffing into balls and place on a baking sheet. Cook in the oven with the chicken, but don't put them in until the final 25 mins of cooking.
5. Place the chicken in a roasting tin and spread with butter. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the bacon in a criss-cross pattern across the breast. Cover loosely with foil.
6. Roast in the centre of oven for 20 mins per 500g plus 10-20 mins extra, basting twice during cooking.
7. Fifteen mins before end of cooking time, remove the foil, remove the bacon, baste and increase the heat to 220ºC/425°F/gas 7, to give the skin that final golden crispiness. When it is cooked, remove it from the oven and cover it with foil. Leave to rest for at least 10 mins before serving. The juices should run clear when the thigh is pierced. If not, cook further.
8. Garnish with a bunch of sage and serve with a selection of roasted vegetables.

Top tips for roast chicken stuffing recipe:

Fresh stuffing is so simple and delicious, and once you've chopped the onions, it really doesn't take much longer to make than freeze-dried stuff from a packet. It's worth trying once and we think you'll be pleasantly surprised. However, if you'd prefer to use a packet mix you can, just stuff the chicken and follow the rest of the recipe in the same way.

To reduce the saturated fat content, replace the butter on the skin of the chicken with a little drizzled olive oil, and use olive oil instead of butter to fry the onions for the stuffing as well.

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