Pan Roasted Deboned Chicken Stuffed with Sausage and Cranberries

I was known for my knife skills when I was in culinary school. My teacher, Chef de Herbs (he really liked his herb.. *wink, wink) even wanted to hire me as his butcher for his restaurant. One of my favorites was deboning a whole chicken. It's pretty fascinating to see the finish results. You cut out the carcass and bones while keeping the skin and meat intacted. Adam is also amazed at how well I handle a knife. I think he should be scared...

Recipe:

3 to 4 pound chicken ( deboned)- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPkN90pPyR0

1 pound of your favorite sausage, casing removed

1/2 cup of dried cranberries

2 tablespoon of chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon of finely chopped garlic

2/3 of dried bread crumbs

2/3 grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

1/4 cup of oil

1/2 white wine

1 tablespon of butter

Trussing needle and thread

1-Combine sausage, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, bread crumbs, cranberries and grated cheese in a bowl. Knead with hands until well blended.

2-Place deboned chicken skin side down. Fill legs with mixture. Take the rest of the stuffing and shape it into the center of the chicken. Bring the bird's skin around to cover the stuffing completely. Overlapping the skin by 1 inch. Mold the stuffing under the skin with hands to restore the chicken to its's original shape ( as best as you can)

3- Using the trussing needle and string sew up the chicken, starting from the neck down to the tail.

4- Heat an enameled cast-iron pot( size that can contain the bird snugly) with oil and butter. Sear the chicken well starting with the stitched side down first. Brown the bird well all over. Handle the bird gently! Add wine, salt and pepper and cook at a very slow simmer with lid slightly askew. About 1.5 hour ( depending on the size of the bird.. 20 mins per pound). Turn chicken occasionally while it cooks. Add a little water or wine if it becomes dry.

5-Transfer chicken to a carving board and let it rest.

6- Use the remaining juices in the pot as sauce by spooning off some fat, adding a couple of tablespoon of water and reduce a little.

This is beautiful. I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I did :)