Christmas Chicken, with Sausage Meat Stuffing, and Chestnuts

Christmas lunch is often a complex piece of cooking. This one was no exception. The main components were: roast Maris Piper potatoes, carrots, brussels sprouts, sliced chicken breast, sausage meat and sage and onion stuffing, oven roasted sausages dressed in bacon (pigs in blankets), and a chestnut, onion and mushroom gravy.

The main trick is to get all of the components hot at the same time, and delivered to the plate within two minutes. Everything except the sausages was prepared the previous day. I used three rings on the hob to reheat the sprouts and carrot (in one pot), the chestnut gravy, and the chicken slices in some chicken stock. The roast potatoes were reheated in the microwave. The slices of sage and onion stuffing were toasted under the grill. The pigs in blankets were cooked from scratch in a fan-assisted oven. You have to watch these carefully, since they can be ready several minutes before you expect them to be.

I started with the vegetables, the chestnut sauce, and the chicken, which took three pots. Heated under glass at a low heat.

Ingredients: Brussels sprouts, chopped carrot, sliced chicken breast cooked in some chicken stock. The chicken breasts (four altogether) were cooked the previous day in the oven, in roasting trays and wrapped in aluminium foil. They can be cooked in ten to fifteen minutes at 200 deg C. These pieces had been frozen, and so I left them in the oven for forty minutes altogether, with the heat turned down for the last fifteen minutes, to ensure that they were heated all through.Wrapped in foil this is not a hazardous process, since the chicken is cooking in its own juices, and does not dry out. The chicken slices were very tender when served. 

The Chestnut sauce was made with Merchant Gourmet brand cooked chestnuts, sliced, half a white onion, and diced chestnut mushrooms. Additional ingredients were: a splash of dark soy sauce, a pinch of paprika, two bay leaves, and some oregano. Plus a splash of a dry sherry. 

The second item was the pigs in blankets.These were cooked from scratch at 180 deg C, for a notional 25 minutes. Ovens are so variable, even with an internal thermostat, that they were essentially ready in 15 minutes. I turned off the heat and put them back in the oven to make sure that they were thoroughly heated, and took them out after 20 minutes.

The first list of items were removed from heat after simmering for ten minutes or so.

The third item was the sage and onion stuffing. Because it contained pork sausage meat it was important to make sure it was thoroughly heated. Cooked under the grill, and the slices were turned once using a fish slice (about seven minutes each side - judged by eye). Made from scratch with:

Outdoor bred sausage meat from Sainsbury's, one diced apple, one diced onion, three medium handfuls of porage oats, one beaten egg, 40 g of salted butter,
a teaspoonful and a half of dried sage. Cooked in the oven on the previous day at around 180 deg C, for forty minutes (watched carefully). I used a silicon bread tin, so the stuffing was cooked much like a meatloaf. Sliced when cold, and stored in the fridge. 

I've made stuffing before, but not as good as this one!

The roast potatoes take just five minutes to reheat, so they were the fourth item to be started. I've blogged about roasting potatoes before, so search on roast potato for the details. In this case I used olive oil rather than goose fat, which is a popular choice at Christmas, but isn't strictly necessary to get excellent roast potatoes.

All components of the meal were thoroughly heated and cooked and still hot before serving. All components were on the plate within two minutes, starting with the sausages and the stuffing, followed by the chicken, the roast potatoes, the vegetables and the chestnut and onion sauce. Serve with Cranberry Sauce.

Does this seem like a military operation? Yes it does. It needs to be thought through first, with every part properly sequenced in your head before you start. After that, it is no problem. Especially if the major cooking is done on the previous day.

Chicken and Sausage Meat Stuffing, with Roast Potatoes

Roast potatoes, chicken breast, a sausage meat stuffing, carrots, brussels sprouts, sausages wrapped in bacon (pigs in blankets), cranberry sauce, and a delicious gravy made with chicken stock, sage, thyme, rosemary, onion, spring onion, and red currant sauce. 

This meal was largely created in two sessions on the preceding day. The gravy and the potatoes were prepared first. The onions were added to a mixture of cornflour and water. Heated until it began to thicken. Cooked for half an hour, stirring regularly (don't take your eyes off it). The potatoes were parboiled for fifteen minutes, then decanted into a glass bowl and allowed to cool. Four dessert spoonfuls of goose fat (sunflower oil will do just as well) were drizzled across the potatoes. With a plate sealing the glass bowl, the potatoes were shaken around vigorously, until fluffy. Then placed in the oven on the middle shelf at around 160 deg C, and cooked until a golden colour. Turn two or three times.The stuffing was commercially bought, but is essentially made with (usually pork) sausage meat and stale breadcrumbs, plus generous amounts of sage. Rolled oats or oatmeal can be substituted, and sometimes it is given extra physical integrity by adding an egg during the mixing of the ingredients. 

Unless very thick, the stuffing should roast in twenty minutes at 180 deg. C. Watch this one closely too!

The chicken was in the form of a crown (both breasts), and was cooked for 70 minutes at 180 deg C, and turned two times during the process, with the juices spooned over the top. Covered with aluminium foil for 65 of those minutes. The chicken was allowed to rest before carving, and reheated in the microwave on the day. You could reheat in a steamer instead.

  

Finally the brussels sprouts were cooked for nine minutes in boiling water, and the carrots for twenty.