Roast Chicken with Garlic Sausage, Potato and Carrot Stuffing
When I need ideas on what to cook, I do three things: 1) open my freezer and see what existing protein I have, 2) check my vegetable chiller to see what kind of vegetables are available and 3) combine protein and vegetable to make a meal. Do you do the same? Oh, and if I do 1) and see I have no protein, it’s PASTA NIGHT! *dances*
I remember when I just started cooking years ago, I would decide on a dish to make and then go right out and buy ALL the ingredients for that recipe. Not only did I spend alot of money, I also wasted alot of ingredients due to lack of planning. I could buy a bag of potatoes for ONE dish and forget about it the entire week. And when it was time for another potato dish, I would realise that the potatoes have all sprouted.
The other night I was in luck. I 1) opened my freezer and saw a griller chicken; and 2) checked my vegetable chiller and saw carrots and celery. I also had potatoes from making my light and fluffy Japanese Potato Salad a day ago. And I always have onions in my pantry. That was it.. I was going to make roast chicken!
Roasting is one of my favourite ways to cook chicken. It is supremely easy and quite idiot proof. This time, instead of making a regular roast chicken with vegetables scattered around the sides, I was going to stuff it with the vegetables and garlic sausages.
This is the stuffing of potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, garlic and sausages with bay leaves and a sprinkle of rosemary and paprika:
There’s been some debate on whether a chicken should be roasted breast side up or down, or covered with foil or not. I don’t proclaim to know the “best” way to roast chicken and “best” is subjective anyway, but this is what I do: Roast it breast side DOWN covered with foil for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove foil, turn it breast side UP, and continue to roast for 20 minutes til skin is brown and crisp. This way, the toughest part of the chicken- the breast- gets all the juices from being roasted its side down before being given the crispy skin treatment. The timing is good for a 1.2kg griller and gives me moist, pull-off-the-bone meat every time. Try this, I hope you like it!
Roast Chicken with Garlic Sausage, Carrot and Potato Stuffing
Makes 4 servings. Total cost per serving: $2.46
What I used:
For marinating chicken:
1 griller chicken, about 1.2kg
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
1 tablespoon garlic and onion seasoning
For the stuffing:
300g pork/ chicken sausages
3 potatoes, scrubbed and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 red onion, peeled and diced
5 sticks celery, washed and diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 bay leaf (optional)
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
A sprinkle of black pepper
3/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup water
Steps:
1. Marinate the chicken: Clean chicken, pat dry and rub all over with olive oil, Old Bay and onion and garlic seasoning, making sure you get the seasonings under the skin. Marinate overnight in the fridge or for at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 190C.
3. Prepare the stuffing: In a large pan, saute the onion and garlic with olive oil. Fry the sausages til browned, about 3 minutes. Add celery, carrots, potatoes, bayleaf and cook on high heat for 4 minutes. Add the wine and water gradually, along with the bayleaf.
4. Cook for 2 minutes and sprinkle the rosemary, paprika, salt and black pepper. Turn down the heat and continue cooking til vegetables are soft.
5. Stuff the chicken with the prepared stuffing, making sure to fill the cavity completely. Secure with toothpick or trussing string. Scatter remaining stuffing all around your baking dish. Place some stuffing mix as a “lining” on your baking dish, then place the chicken breast side down on the stuffing mix and cover with foil.
6. Roast for 45 minutes. When time is up, remove foil, turn chicken over, brush on a layer of olive oil and continue roasting for 20 minutes til skin is brown and crispy. Let it rest for 10 minutes before eating or carving. Enjoy!
How much I spent:
$3.50 for griller chicken
$4.95 for sausages
$0.30 for carrot
$0.20 for onion
$0.90 for potatoes
Everything else from my pantry
