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Chicken Ballotine
An elegant deboned whole chicken stuffed with a savory farce made from huachana sausage, bread panade, and aromatics, then tied, steamed, and roasted to golden perfection. Served with mashed potatoes, gravy, and a simple vinaigrette salad.
Ingredients
Accompaniments
- 400 g Mashed potatoes (For serving)
- 100 ml Pan gravy (Made from drippings)
- 100 g Mixed salad greens (With vinaigrette) optional
Brine
- 1 L Water (for brine)
- 100 g Salt (for brine) (10% brine ratio)
- 2 units Lemons (Added to brine) optional
- 20 g Aromatic herbs (for brine) (Your choice of herbs) optional
Chicken
- 1 whole Whole chicken (Deboned through the back, leaving wing tips)
Farce (Stuffing)
- 200 g Huachana sausage (or Italian sausage) (Removed from casing)
- 100 g Onion (Diced)
- 15 g Garlic (Minced)
- 2 units Bay leaves
- 60 ml White wine
Panade
- 80 g White bread (sandwich bread) (For panade)
- 60 ml Milk (For panade)
- 1 unit Egg (For panade)
Roasting
- 30 ml Olive oil (For brushing before roasting)
Tying
- 2 m Kitchen twine
Steps
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1Step 1 - Debone the chicken: Remove the wishbone. Cut along the backbone. Locate joint connections at wings and legs. Dislocate the thigh/leg joints. Pull the carcass away from the meat carefully without tearing. Scrape bones from legs with knife back. Remove all bones EXCEPT the wing tips (these prevent shrinkage during cooking).Tip: Leave the wing tip bones (munones) in place - they act as anchors to prevent the meat from contracting during cooking. Remove them after cooking.~15 min
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2Step 2 - Brine: Prepare a 10% brine (100g salt per 1L water) with lemons and aromatic herbs. Submerge the deboned chicken for 3 hours.Tip: The brine adds flavor, makes the meat juicier, and helps with browning.~180 min
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3Step 3 - Make the farce: Saute sausage (removed from casing) until browned, then add onion and garlic. When softened, add bay leaves and deglaze with white wine. Separately make a panade by combining bread, milk, and egg. Mix the panade into the sauteed mixture.Tip: The panade (bread, milk, egg) adds crucial moisture to keep the stuffing creamy during cooking.~15 min
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4Step 4 - Stuff the chicken: Spread the farce evenly across the inside of the brined chicken, including into the leg cavities. Reshape the chicken to its natural form.~5 min
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5Step 5 - Tie the chicken: Tie the wing tips first, then pass twine behind the neck area, making loops at regular intervals to create a compact, even package. Lift by the twine to let gravity tighten it.Tip: The tying ensures even cooking. Lift the chicken by the twine and let its weight tighten the binding naturally.~10 min
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6Step 6 - Steam: Cook the tied chicken via steam for approximately 20 minutes. Use a steamer, steam oven, or improvise with a pot of water and an inverted plate.Tip: Steaming cooks the chicken gently while keeping it hydrated. This is the first of two cooking stages.~20 min
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7Step 7 - Roast: Brush the steamed chicken with olive oil. Roast at 180C for about 25 minutes until the skin is golden and crispy.Tip: The olive oil helps achieve the golden skin. The two-stage cooking (steam then roast) gives you juicy meat with crispy skin.~25 min
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8Remove twine and wing tip bones. Slice into medallions. Serve with mashed potatoes, pan gravy, and a simple salad with vinaigrette.Tip: The stuffing should be creamy, almost sauce-like. The juices from the brine create an incredibly succulent result.~5 min
Nutrition (per serving)
420
Calories
38g
Protein
15g
Carbs
24g
Fat
1g
Fiber
Cultural Context
The ballotine is a classic French technique of deboning, stuffing, and reshaping poultry. Giacomo gives it a Peruvian identity by using salchicha huachana (a traditional Peruvian sausage from Huacho) in the farce. The seven-step process demonstrates professional-level technique accessible to home cooks, combining French methodology with Peruvian ingredients.