Best Roast Chicken With Pancetta Ricotta Stuffing Balls Recipes

RICOTTA AND HERB-STUFFED ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F.
• *To spatchcock the chicken: Place the bird, breast side down on a cutting board. Using poultry shears or a sharp knife, score along both sides of the backbone, cutting through the skin and bone. Remove the backbone. Turn the bird over and press firmly on the breast bone to break it, and flatten the breast. Tuck the wing tips under the breast. Set the chicken aside.
• In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, chervil, chives, lemon zest, and season with sea salt and black pepper, to taste. Using your fingers, carefully loosen the skin over the breast of the chicken and down to the thigh area. Spread the ricotta mixture evenly under the skin to coat the breast and thigh meat.
• Set the chicken in a roasting pan, drizzle it with olive oil and re-season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Roast until the juices run clear when you poke a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh, about 50 minutes. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before carving.

RICOTTA-STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. Gently loosen skin from chicken breasts; stuff cheese mixture under skin., Place on a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan; brush with oil. Bake at 375° for 35-45 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 170°.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH PANCETTA AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.
• Toss chicken with oil, thyme, rosemary, sea salt, red-pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon pepper, rubbing mixture into chicken.
• Arrange chicken, skin side up, in 1 layer in a 17-by 11-inch 4-sided sheet pan. Scatter garlic and pancetta on top and roast until chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Drizzle wine over chicken and roast 8 minutes more. Scatter olives over chicken and roast until skin is golden brown and chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes.

SIMPLE/EASY STUFFED ROAST CHICKEN WITH GRAVY (FOR BEGINNERS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Empty contents of stuffing box, both the bread crumb and seasoning envelopes, into a medium bowl.
• Add hot water and butter; stir to mix.
• Add chopped water chestnuts, onion and poultry seasoning, mix thoroughly and set aside.
• Check inside the chicken for giblets, remove and set aside.
• Rinse chicken inside and out with cold running water.
• Dry thoroughly inside and out with paper towel.
• Sprinkle salt and fresh ground pepper inside the cavity and all over the outside.
• Place chicken in a roaster.
• Loosely pack the stuffing mix into the main cavity and any left into the neck cavity folding the skin over it.
• If necessary secure the neck skin with a pick.
• Take a length of kitchen string and tie the ends of the legs as close together as possible.
• Rub the butter all over the outside of the chicken making sure to cover the whole outside surface.
• Take two lengths of aluminum foil, place one piece over the chicken lengthwise, take the other piece and place it sideways over the first piece.
• Tuck the foil tightly to the chicken so it is touching the bottom of the roaster but not under the bird.
• If the bird is not completely covered (except for the underside) Use a third piece to finish covering.
• Place the roaster on the middle rack of the oven and roast at 400f degrees for 15 minutes.
• Reduce the heat after 15 minutes to 350f degrees and roast for approximately 2 hours.
• At about 2 hours, carefully lift the aluminum foil and poke the chicken with a fork, if the juice runs clear, remove the foil and roast a further 30 minutes to brown the skin to golden.
• If the juice is not yet clear, roast a little longer and check again.
• Once the chicken is well browned, remove to platter, cover with foil and let rest.
• In the meantime, if you wish to make giblet gravy, take the giblets (and neck if it's there), place in a saucepan, cover with water, add salt and pepper and a little poultry seasoning if you wish, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least an hour.
• Remove to strainer, reserving liquid.
• Chop the giblets and pick any meat off neck bones, add to a blender and add the liquid.
• Blend to liquefy level, add 3 or 4 tablespoons flour or corn starch and blend to mix well.
• Pour off as much fat as possible from the roaster, take a whisk and move up any bits and pieces of stuffing/chicken stuck to the bottom, remove any large pieces of skin, add the giblet mix from the blender, whisk around; place in 450°F to 500°F degree oven until bubbly, about 10 minutes; add a small amount of hot water if necessary if it is too thick until it is the consistancy you want, cook another 5 minutes.
• (We like ours very thick) Whisk and pour into gravy boat and serve hot with the roast chicken.
• Gravy can also be made without the giblets, just whisk up the brown bits in the roaster and add 1 cup of hot water and make a slurry of cold water and either flour or corn starch, add the slurry and whisk, cook the same as above adding a little more water if necessary.

RICOTTA-AND-HERB-STUFFED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Make filling:
• Preheat oven to 400°F with racks in middle and lower third.
• Cook garlic in oil in a small heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and stir in ricotta, eggs, parmesan, herbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Stuff and roast chickens:
• Cut out backbones from chickens with kitchen shears (freeze bones for making stock if desired). Pat chickens dry, then spread flat, skin sides up, on a cutting board. Cut a 1/2-inch slit on each side of chicken in center of triangle of skin between thigh and breast (near drumstick), then tuck knob of each drumstick thourough slit.
• Sprinkle each chicken with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and spread chickens flat, skin sides up, in an oiled large (17- by 12-inch) shallow baking pan. Gently slide your finger between skin and flesh of breast and legs of 1 chicken to loosen skin (be careful not to tear skin). Using a small spoon, slide 2/3 cup ricotta mixture under skin, using a finger on outside of skin to spread filling over meat of breast, thighs, and drumsticks. Tuck wing tips under. Stuff second chicken in same manner. Brush skin of chickens all over with oil (2 tablespoons) and sprinkle each with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Spoon remaining filling into an oiled 1-quart shallow baking dish (10 by 7 inches).
• Bake chickens in middle of oven 30 minutes, then put dish of stuffing in oven on lower rack. Continue baking until chicken is just cooked thourough and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of a thigh (through stuffing; do not touch bone) registers 170°F and until gratin is puffed and golden, about 30 minutes more. Let chickens stand 10 minutes, then cut each into quarters. Serve with gratin.

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
• Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.