Chicken ballottines with sage & pancetta

Name: Chicken ballottines with sage & pancetta
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Italian, European
Ingredients: 4 whole chicken legs (drumsticks and thighs), with skin on; 100 grams chestnut mushroom, finely chopped; 1 serving olive oil; 6 best-quality chipolata sausages; 200 grams very thin straight rashers pancetta or 20 thin smoked streaky bacon rashers; 8 fresh sage leaves; 3 knobs unsalted butter; 1 serving Gordons classic vinaigrette (see tip below); 1 serving roasted tomatoes (see tip below)

Chicken ballottines with sage & pancett It is a good option if you're following a gluten free and primal diet. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes. A mixture of best-quality chipolata sausages, chestnut mushroom, sage leaves, and a handful of other ingredients are all it takes to make this recipe so flavorful. Users who liked this recipe also liked Pancetta-Sage Turkey with Pancetta-Sage Gravy, Polenta with Pancettan and Sage, and Parsnip Risotto With Pancettan And Sage.

Instructions

Firstly neaten the ends of the drumsticks. Using a small sharp knife, make a cut all around each chicken leg, about 4cm up from the knuckle end. Holding the leg like a gun, squeeze it tight to pull the skin taut, then scrape down to the bottom of the bone to remove the tendons and clean the bone, turning the leg as you go (scissors are good for cutting the tendons). Now position your knife across the bottom of the exposed bone and bash the knife with a rolling pin or meat mallet the bone will break smoothly.

Ingredients you will need

Chicken Drumsticks

Bone

Meat

Equipment you will use

Meat Tenderizer

Rolling Pin

Kitchen Scissors

Knife

Lay the chicken legs skin-side down, pull the flaps of skin back and cut the flesh with a very sharp small knife on either side of the thigh bone using a shaving action. Once the bone is exposed, prise it out, then twist and snap it with your fingers to free it from the drumstick. If it doesnt snap clean you may have to cut it. You now have a part-boned chicken leg.

Ingredients you will need

Chicken Drumsticks

Bone

Equipment you will use

Knife

Lightly saut the mushrooms in a little hot olive oil for about 5 minutes until lightly browned, season well and leave to cool. Open out the boned chicken legs and spoon in the mushrooms.

Ingredients you will need

Chicken Leg

Mushrooms

Olive Oil

Cut the end off each chipolata and squeeze the sausagemeat over the mushrooms, using the chipolata skin as a piping bag. Push sausagemeat with your fingers right to the top of the thigh, then close the flaps and pull the skin across to secure. Now roll the legs over to make the parcels as neat as possible, then hold the exposed bone and straighten out each leg.

Ingredients you will need

Chipolata

Mushrooms

Bone

Roll

Cut 4 sheets of foil (enough to wrap each chicken leg comfortably).

Ingredients you will need

Chicken Leg

Wrap

Equipment you will use

Aluminum Foil

Lay 6-7 rashers of pancetta down the centre of each sheet, overlapping slightly, then put the chicken legs crossways over the pancetta and top each leg with 2 sage leaves. Lift up the edge of the foil that is furthest away from you, bring it over the chicken and press down on the chicken, so that the pancetta comes away from the foil and sticks to the chicken. Repeat with the other side of the foil so the chicken legs are all wrapped in pancetta.

Ingredients you will need

Chicken Leg

Sage

Pancetta

Whole Chicken

Equipment you will use

Aluminum Foil

Roll each leg in the foil, tucking it in and pressing it tight to the chicken to form a neat cylinder. Lift the cylinder up by the bone at one end and roll the foil at both ends, twisting to make a cracker shape.

Ingredients you will need

Whole Chicken

Crackers

Bone

Roll

Equipment you will use

Aluminum Foil

Preheat oven to fan 200C/conventional 220C/gas

Equipment you will use

Oven

Put the chicken parcels on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, turning them twice. Turning them like this ensures they will be evenly coloured. Turn the oven down to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4 and roast for a further 30 minutes, turning once.

Ingredients you will need

Whole Chicken

Equipment you will use

Baking Sheet

Oven

Remove and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Unwrap, tipping the juices on to a plate.

Heat 1 tbsp oil and a knob of butter in a non-stick saut pan until hot and foaming.

Ingredients you will need

Butter

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Put the chicken legs in the pan and brown over a high heat on all sides, basting frequently and turning with a pair of tongs. As they start to brown, add a few small knobs of butter one at a time to the fat in the pan (adding the butter a little at a time keeps it fresh and prevents scorching). Lift the chicken legs from the pan and roll them around in the juices on the plate so they pick up a nice glaze.

Ingredients you will need

Chicken Leg

Butter

Glaze

Roll

Equipment you will use

Tongs

Frying Pan

Cut the stuffed thigh meat of each chicken leg on the diagonal into 3 slices each. Dont slice the meat too thin or it will get cold. Spoon the polenta on to the plates, stand the drumsticks in the middle and lay 3 slices of stuffed chicken in front.

Ingredients you will need

Meat

Chicken Drumsticks

Polenta