Ballotine of Chicken

Listening to: Flight Club — “Come Back”

Sipping on: Catoctin Creek “Hickory Cask” 2015

Old school French food is my happy place. There’s nothing like foie gras torchon with warm brioche or ris de veau with sauce Grenobloise or escargots drowning in garlic butter. One of the classic French dishes that will always have a place in my heart is a ballotine. For whatever reason, I decided to cook one for dinner at home because 🤷‍♂️ even though I haven’t deboned a chicken in at least a decade. Deciding on doing a ballotine was mostly to prove that I can still do stuff like this. I’ll be honest with you. I wanted to show off a little. Like, who does this at home?! Not a whole lot of people. That said, there’s really no reason that people can’t do this at home. I know it looks like a lot of work, but it really isn’t. It’s all just technique and once you know and understand it, the possibilities are endless.

I know that the idea of deboning a whole chicken, stuffing it, rolling it, trussing it, and roasting it sounds scary as shit but trust me, it’s not as daunting as you think. The hardest part (deboning) is literally just a few small cuts. You’re actually using your hands more than a knife. It’s a lot easier than you think. Pop over and watch the legend, Jacques Pepin, bone out a chicken. This is the way. Just do what he tells you to do and you’ll be good to go. Unrelated, listening to him do literally anything is like ASMR to me. It’s glorious.

While it took me a little longer than it used to, my deboned chicken came out pretty good. Just like riding a bike. After you’ve deboned your chicken, it’s all downhill from there. If your bird is really thicc, pounding it down a little will help you in the end. Next up is the farce (stuffing.) I went with spring peas, mushrooms, kale, & ground chicken. Spread an even layer over your chicken. Don’t forget to stuff those legs, too! Don’t go too thick on the farce layer since you’ll be rolling everything up. Too much is never good as it’ll result in a blow out and no one wants that.

When you cook meat that’s stuffed with something, it’s important to not tie it too tight. Skin shrinks and farce expands as it cooks. Leave some wiggle room when you’re trussing your bird. Throw it (gently) on a rack and roast at 425 degrees for about an hour and 20 minutes or until your thermometer reads 160 (it’ll carry over to 165+ while it rests.) Let it rest for 15–20 minutes. I always use this time to finish the rest of my dishes; sauté your squash diamonds, mount your thyme jus with butter, bring up your pot of poached marble potatoes. After it’s rested, snip the strings, carve, and show off your work.