Chicken – De-boned and Stuffed

Ingredients:

• 1 gal water
• 3/4 cup kosher salt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil
•  stuffing

Instructions:

Prepare a brine

1. Heat the brine until the solids dissolve and the oil incorporates.
2. Set the brine to cool to room temperature.

De-bone the chicken

1. Cut off the wings at the second joint (leave one wing bone on the chicken).
2. Break the ends of the drumsticks by hitting them with the back of a large knife about 1″ from the end. Do not break the skin.
3. Cut behind the wishbone and pull it out.
4. Place the bird breast side down on the cutting board.
5. Cut through the skin along the spine.
6. Pull the meat away from the rib cage. Cut if you need to but pull if you can.
7. Work your way to the joints where the wings attach to the ribcage and cut the joint.
8. Cut and scrape along the bone until you can pull it out.
9. Work your way to the drumsticks and do the same thing.
10. You will leave the ends of the drumsticks on the bird and cut them off before serving.
11. If the tenderloins come out separately, grab the tendon with a towel and scrape the meat away from it.
12. Place the discarded parts in a stock pot, cover with water, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 4 – 6 hours to make chicken broth.

Brine the chicken

1. Brine the Chicken for 4 – 6 hours

Create the stuffing

1. Sautee ingredients before adding to breading or other dry ingredients.
2. Stuffing can include spinach leaves, mushrooms, sausage or whatever.

Stuff the chicken

1. Lay the chicken flat on a cutting board, skin side down, and dump the filling on top of the chicken.
2. Spread the filling evenly over the chicken.

Tie the chicken

1. Wrap the chicken around the filling, using the skin as a container
2. Tie the chicken tightly together around the filling with kitchen twine.
3. Cook or freeze the chicken immediately after stuffing.

Cook the chicken

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Cover the sheet with aluminum foil.
4. Place the chicken in the oven and cook, undisturbed for an hour and 15 minutes if fresh.
5. If frozen, cook the chicken covered for one hour and 45 minutes
6. Un-cover the dish and cook for another 30 minutes.
7. Use a meat thermometer to check the doneness of the chicken. Remove the chicken from the oven when the internal temperature of the chicken and stuffing reaches 165 F.