Stuffed chicken: the recipe you need to know to succeed at Christmas

Stuffed chicken is one of the most cherished and elaborate recipes and a classic Christmas dish, but it can be made in as many ways as there are cooks. The version we propose follows the principle of making it very easy for diners: no bones in the dish, plenty of bread to dip, and the most delicious meal they've ever tasted.

It's true that it requires a bit more work to prepare, but the cook recommends working with the store where you buy the chicken and asking them to debone it for you. This way, you'll save yourself a step at home. From here on out, all the tips we share will help you prepare a guaranteed success.

Ingredients for 6-8 people

• 1 chicken
• Black trumpet mushrooms (or seasonal mushrooms)
• 1 onion
• 300g of minced beef
• 300g of minced pork
• A handful of pine nuts
• 1 dried apricot
• 1 egg
• Llardo
• Mustard
• 1 tomato
• 1 carrot
• 1 bouquet herbal
• 1/2 leek
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 glass of sherry
• 1 glass of chamomile tea
• 1/2 cup of mineral water (or chicken broth)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Preparation of stuffed chicken

1. In a frying pan over medium heat, add a drizzle of oil and a finely chopped onion. Cook over low heat until softened and translucent. While the onion is cooking, clean a handful of mushrooms—whatever you find at the market. In our case, we'll be using black trumpet mushrooms, which are cleaned by removing the stems and opening them up to remove all the flesh.
2. When the onion is cooked and has turned translucent, add the mushrooms.
3. In a separate bowl, heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat and combine equal parts minced beef, minced pork, a tablespoon of pine nuts, and a chopped dried apricot. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Stir the pan with the onion and mushrooms, then add a spoonful to the bowl with the meat and dried apricot. Add an egg to this bowl and stir until you have a smooth, homogeneous mixture.
5. Meanwhile, butterfly the chicken, removing the bones. Start in the middle, opening it up while trying to get as much meat as possible. The bottom part is the most delicate, as you'll need to cut through the skin. Make an incision along the bone in the thighs as well. If you can't see the heart, ask the chicken cook to cut it open, removing all the bones. Then, remove all the wings.
6. Once you've removed all the bones from the chicken, season the inside with salt and pepper. Then add the stuffing you prepared, which should already be cooked. Wrap it up and then sew it closed with a needle and kitchen thread. These are special needles and thread, which you can find at hardware stores. Start at one end and finish at the other.
7. Once cooked, place the chicken in an ovenproof casserole dish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and butter. Brush with a little mustard and season with salt and pepper.
8. Place sliced onion, a tomato, a carrot, and a... around the outside of the chicken, in the same tray. bouquet herbs, a cinnamon stick, half a leek and two cloves of garlic, previously crushed.
9. Place it in the oven for fifteen minutes at 180 degrees Celsius to brown one side, then turn it over. Then add a glass of sherry, a glass of manzanilla sherry, and enough mineral water (or chicken broth) to half cover it.
10. Let it cook for an hour, just until you pierce it to check that it is cooked.
11. After an hour, remove the chicken from the oven.
12. Remove the string with the help of a knife. If you pull it out from one end, it will come out on its own.
13. To make the sauce, use the juice left in the tray.
14. Also, with ingredients that will be easy to blend with the sauce. That is, remove the cinnamon and the bouquet of herbs.
15. Everything else, you can put it in the shredder.
16. Grind until it is as fine as possible.
17. Once blended, plate it. First, put a spoonful of sauce at the bottom of the plate. Then, place some chicken medallions on top so the colors of the filling are visible. And that's it.

Enjoy!

With the support of the Generalitat of Catalonia

Grades

• Recipe recorded in the Kitchen area of the Boqueria Market
• The ceramic dish in which the stew and the pot of meat were served is fromHelena Ceramics.