Ballotine
A “ballot” is bundle or package in French, ballotine meaning in the style of a bundle. Ballotine begins with boned, flattened meat, usually chicken or fish that is stuffed and rolled or tied into a bundle and roasted. Ballotine is served with pan sauce or gravy.
Boning steps:
To complete Ballotine:
Lay chicken flat, spread cooled stuffing on it, place filets on top of stuffing. Fold skin around stuffing to resemble natural shape.
Truss: Tie twine around legs of chicken, pull together. Make a loop and pull it around and under, repeat down length of chicken, turn over and run twine back from neck to legs securing at each loop, and finally at legs.
Sear the roast and then roast about 30 minutes in 425 degree oven. Use reserved juices from mushrooms and from roasting to make a light pan sauce for serving. Cool till you can handle, remove twine. Place on platter with 3/4" slices and sauce.
A “ballot” is bundle or package in French, ballotine meaning in the style of a bundle. Ballotine begins with boned, flattened meat, usually chicken or fish that is stuffed and rolled or tied into a bundle and roasted. Ballotine is served with pan sauce or gravy.
Boning steps:
- Cut the wings, leaving only first joint at shoulder. Lift neck skin, remove wishbone.
- Place chicken on its side and make an incision along skin of back from neck to tail.
- With chicken on its side, lift skin at shoulder joint, pull back to reveal joint. Wiggle tip of knife through tendons of joint.
- Hold carcass securely through the bone of shoulder with one hand, pull wing at joint with other. This will separate carcass from meat. Repeat other side.
- Meat is still attached at breastbone. You should be able to pull the breast meat down and off. Now the chicken is only held together at leg bone.
- On side, cut out the "oyster".
- Open leg and crack at hip joint, cut through the sinews and pull the leg free.
- Repeat, other side, now your carcass is free of meat.
- Only remaining meat on carcass are filets, slide finger or thumb under and remove.
- Hold filets' sinew and scrape meat free of the sinew that runs through it.
- Remove leg bone: cut around the tip so you can grasp firmly there. Scrap meat down to the joint cut around the joint of the leg, again scraping bone of drumstick down to leg.
- Using the back of a large knife, break the bone from the inside so as not to break the skin or it will shrink.
- Make and cool your filling (you might use 1 oz. dried mushrooms softened in water, save water; 4 oz. cultivated mushrooms, melt 1 TB butter in large skillet, add 2 C sliced onions until nicely browned, add mushrooms, S&P, saute until liquid is released from mushrooms and evaporates. Cool.)
To complete Ballotine:
Lay chicken flat, spread cooled stuffing on it, place filets on top of stuffing. Fold skin around stuffing to resemble natural shape.
Truss: Tie twine around legs of chicken, pull together. Make a loop and pull it around and under, repeat down length of chicken, turn over and run twine back from neck to legs securing at each loop, and finally at legs.
Sear the roast and then roast about 30 minutes in 425 degree oven. Use reserved juices from mushrooms and from roasting to make a light pan sauce for serving. Cool till you can handle, remove twine. Place on platter with 3/4" slices and sauce.