Is it just me, or did Thanksgiving just sneak up on everyone this year?
It seems that, as the years carry on, the hourglass of our lives comes with less sand than in years before. We get swept up in our day-to-day routines, yet still have big holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas stored in our internal memory bank. About two weeks before the holidays, a nagging little voice chimes in, begging to know: “Well, what the hell are you going to make this year?”
As someone who never wants to recycle recipes, I may put more pressure on myself than is necessary. I’ve always said a good Thanksgiving dinner takes weeks to prepare and minutes to finish. Sometimes it seems almost fruitless to spend all that time slaving over a bird that most people seem to eat solely out of tradition — more out of obligation, really. As someone who works in the meat industry, I can tell you that people aren’t terribly excited to feast on turkey. It doesn’t have the bravado and “wow factor” that a bone-in standing rib roast has. Some part of the bird — no matter how well you brine it, sub-dermally inject it or baste it — always seems to be a hair on the dry side on day two. But, alas, every year around this time we find ourselves squaring up to our meat clerks all over this great country proclaiming: “SHOW ME YOUR FINEST BIRD!”
On a lighter note, I do feel a sense of normalcy returning to the holidays this year. From the retail end of things, I’ve noticed people ordering larger turkeys than last year, which tells me families are getting together in larger groups. But some people don’t have all their loved ones close by. Maybe you just accepted a new job across country and haven’t met friends yet. Perhaps you just want a peaceful, low-key holiday dinner with a few close friends and a get-out-of-jail-free card away from your drunk uncle Randy who likes to remind you that he’s been a card carrying member of the NRA since “before you were a glimmer in your daddy’s eye.” GULP! Am I right?
In this article, I’ll share a recipe perfect for an intimate dinner that’ll serve up to 4-5 people. More good news — it’s not even turkey! Blasphemy you say?! Not quite… close though; an entire deboned and stuffed chicken is a great substitution, has a beautiful presentation, and is simpler and less time consuming to cook.
Deboned Chicken with Herb Stuffing and Cranberry Chutney
Serves 4-5 guests
5-6 pound roasting chicken, deboned
10 oz. dried/cubed bread or seasoned croutons
4 carrots, peeled and finely diced
3 celery stalks, finely diced
½ yellow Spanish onion, finely diced
½ shallot, finely diced
½ apple (sweet variety of your choosing), finely diced
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 full sprig each of rosemary, thyme, and sage, all finely diced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp unsalted butter
8 oz cranberry chutney
8-12 oz chicken broth
Cracked pepper and salt to taste
Butcher’s twine
On a low-medium heat in a large skillet, sweat the onions and carrots first in the olive oil ,with a heaping tbsp of butter, for about 5 minutes or until the onions become translucent. Next, add the celery, shallot, and apple, and stir occasionally for another 5 minutes. Add a second tbsp of butter to the mixture. Add garlic and the fresh herbs, along with some of the chicken broth and the vegetables. Add your final tbsp of butter, then begin folding in the bread cubes and adding chicken broth slowly as you go, until the bread mixture is moist and the vegetables have softened a bit.
Olive oil the inside of the deboned chicken, then season with salt and pepper. Apply a liberal layer of cranberry chutney over top of both breasts, then add a nice layer of stuffing over top. Next, fold both thighs over top the mixture. You want to have the appearance of a whole stuffed breast with ample skin coverage all over. Place a few pats of butter and fresh herbs under the skin of the breast.
Using your butcher’s twine, secure the bird bundle with a butcher’s knot every inch and half and then one going lengthwise horizontally. Olive oil and season the trussed bird, then place in a baking pan with a rack. Set oven to 375F degrees and cook for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Taking the temperature at the breast with a reliable digital thermometer is always a full-proof method. Once the bird has temped out at 165F degrees, you can give it a quick sear in a large buttered skillet to get that nice mahogany hue all over.
