Shelly's Recipe

STUFFED ROAST BUTTERFLIED CHICKEN

Category: Chicken

1/2 cup salt
1 whole chicken (5 to 6 lbs), trimmed of excess fat, giblets discarded
1 tsp vegetable oil or olive oil
Ground black pepper
1 recipe Mushroom-Leek Bread Stuffing with Herbs (located in Dressing and Stuffing Folder)

Dissolve salt in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Immerse chicken and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 hour.

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 450 degrees. Remove chicken from brine and rinse under cold running water; pat dry with paper towels. Butterfly chicken, flatten breastbone, and tuck wings behind back. Rub skin with oil and sprinkle with pepper.

Construct foil bowl, spray inside of bowl with nonstick cooking spray, and place bowl in roasting pan. Gently mound and pack stuffing into foil bowl and position chicken over stuffing (chicken should extend past edges of bowl so that most of fat renders into roasting pan, not into foil bowl).

Roast chicken until just beginning to brown, about 30 minutes. Rotate pan and continue to roast until skin is crisped and deep golden brown and instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees in thickest part of breast, 175 degrees in thickest part of thigh, and 165 degrees in stuffing, 25 to 35 minutes longer. Using tongs, transfer chicken to cutting board; let rest 10 minutes.

While chicken rests, transfer stuffing from foil bowl to serving bowl; fluff stuffing with spoon. Cover stuffing with foil to keep warm. Carve chicken and serve with stuffing.