This recipe includes instructions for making the delicious homemade apple stuffing and a glaze for the chicken.
Ingredients:
- One thawed whole chicken, sized to feed 4
- Roasting vegetables and their seasonings, if desired
For the stuffing:
- 50g butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Granny Smith apple
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 slices wholemeal bread, cubed (homemade is best)
- ¼ cup coarse cornmeal (polenta)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- a few sprigs fresh rosemary
- coarsely-ground pepper
For the glaze:
- 1 Tbsp tomato sauce
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp mustard (any kind)
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180C. Wash the chicken under running water and pat thoroughly dry with paper towels.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter and add olive oil. Add chopped onion and garlic and cook until transluscent. Dice the unpeeled apple and add, along with the rest of the stuffing ingredients. Cook for a few minutes longer, stirring, until the bread is soaked in butter and the mixture is combined. Allow to cool.
- In the meantime, combine the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl.
- Spoon the cooled stuffing into the cavity of the chicken, packing down tightly to fit as much in as you possible—you may have some extra. Place chicken breast-side down in a flat-bottomed roasting pan. If you are roasting vegetables with your chicken, place them around the chicken. Sprinkle any extra stuffing over the vegetables.
- Brush the glaze liberally over the chicken and place the roasting pan in the centre of the oven. Bake for 45 minutes, basting a few times and/or brushing more glaze over the top.
- Carefully turn the hot chicken over (using two fish slices or large serving spoons can help). Baste and glaze. Return to the oven and bake for a further 45 minutes, basting and/or glazing occasionally, or until a sharp knife poked into the thickest part of the leg reveals clear juices and no traces of pink in the meat.
Tips:
For a vegetarian version of the stuffing, omit the butter and add a few extra tablespoons of olive oil. Cook extra stuffing with roasting vegetables in a separate pan, avoiding any contact with meat juices, and serve with a vegetarian side dish such as a lentil meatless meatloaf for a hearty roast meal.
Tip any extra glaze into the juices and make gravy. Add a few tablespoons of flour, seasonings and as much water as required to make a sufficient quantity, then whisk over the stove until thickened.
Extra glaze can be brushed over vegetables while roasting to add colour and flavour.
Read these roasting tips to ensure a perfect result.
The copyright of the article Roast Chicken with Apple Stuffing in Dinner Recipes is owned by Sarah Tennant. Permission to republish Roast Chicken with Apple Stuffing in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
