MAIN EVENT

CHICKEN AND STUFFING

egin this recipe 1 day ahead Preparation: 30 minutes Cooking time: 2 hours

3 whole free range chickens Vegetable offcuts and herb stems, such as onion, carrot, celery and rosemary bay leaves p miso paste p m maple syrup

2ta epoon red wine vinegar

1tea poon mixed spice

1tea poon smoked paprika

2 prig rosemary, leaves picked

STUFFING

1 g butter

1 brown onion, finely diced

g pecans, finely chopped

1 prig rosemary, leaves finely chopped 155 g (approximately) sourdough loaf, torn into pieces

2 eggs, lightly beaten

m chicken stock (made from carcass)

THE DAY BEFORE:

1 reak down the chicken. Remove the legs by pulling the thigh away from the frame, then run a sharp knife between the bones. Pop the hip bone out, then ease it off the frame to reveal the whole leg. et aside.

2 Remove the wings by cutting through the joint. Finish by separating the breast from the frame, running a sharp knife down along the breastbone, and easing it down to remove the breast and tenderloin.

3 Remove the skin from the breast, and roughly chop, season with 2 teaspoons of salt, and reserve. You should now have the breast skin and pieces of chicken the legs, breasts, wings, and chicken frame. Repeat with the remaining chickens.

4 For the stock, place the frame into a stock pot with the bay leaves, vegetable offcuts and 2½ litres of water. Place over high heat, and bring to the boil. kim the surface to remove impurities, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour.

5 Add the chicken breasts to stock, return to a simmer then turn off. Cover and leave to cook gently for 1 minutes or until the chicken breast is cooked through.

Remove and stand to cool for 20 minutes, then transfer to the fridge to cool completely. Strain the stock through a fine sieve and chill to cool.

6 Toss the leg and wing pieces in a bowl with the miso, maple syrup, vinegar, spices, and a ½ cup of cooled stock. Chill overnight to marinate.

7 For the stuffing, place the butter and reserved chopped chicken skin in a frying pan over low heat, and cook for 10 minutes or until the skin fat renders and starts to turn golden.

8 Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add the pecans and rosemary, and cook for 4 minutes or until the nuts are slightly toasted. Add the sourdough and mix to coat. Transfer to a bowl with the eggs, cooled stock and some of the stock vegetables roughly chopped. Mix well with your hands to combine, and chill to soak overnight.

ON CHRISTMAS DAY:

1 Preheat the oven to 200C. Grease and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

2 Arrange the marinated chicken pieces on trays and transfer the stuffing mixture to a 2½-litre baking dish and cover with foil.

3 Bake both, removing the foil from the stuffing halfway through, for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the meat is cooked through and the stuffing is golden.

4 Add the cooked cold breast pieces to the tray and brush with pan juices. Return to the oven for 8 minutes to warm through. Stand to rest, then halve the chicken legs and slice the breast. Arrange on a serving platter.

5 Add a ½ cup of stock to the baking trays and return to the oven for 5 minutes to deglaze the tray. Spoon over the chicken pieces and serve with stuffing.