Stuffed Baked Chicken

If you enjoyed our baked chicken with potatoes recipe, then you're in for a treat today. This time, we've stepped it up by preparing a chicken stuffed with various ingredients, including ground meat, apple, walnuts, and dates.

The entire dish is baked for an extended period at 356°F, resulting in tender and juicy meat. To further enhance the flavors, we've brushed the chicken's exterior with a dressing where rosemary stands out. Incorporating spices and aromatic herbs into chicken dishes is an unbeatable technique for delicious results. As proof, take a look at our recipes for baked chicken wings with barbecue sauce or our oven-baked chicken thighs.

Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients or the detailed steps. This dish isn't labor-intensive. In fact, setting up the ingredients probably takes longer than the actual preparation.

Feel free to make any adjustments to the ingredients. Chicken can be filled with various items, like meats, vegetables, nuts, different fruits (apple, plums, apricots, etc.), or even a mix of fish and seafood, such as hake and shrimp. By experimenting, you can craft unique dishes.

Before starting, take a moment to gather and prep all ingredients. It's the best way to avoid unexpected challenges during cooking. In French, this preparation is referred to as "mise en place", which means having all ingredients measured, cut, peeled, sliced, and ready to use.

How to make the recipe Stuffed Baked Chicken

1. Start by soaking the bread in milk. Let it settle while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. Finely chop the garlic and onion, and sauté in a pan with hot oil.
3. Then, seed the red pepper, dice half, and add to the pan.
4. Peel, core, and dice the apple, adding it to the pan with the ground meat and some salt once the onion and pepper are soft. Mix and cook until the meat is slightly brown.
5. While the meat is getting cooked, crush the walnuts and slice the pitted dates. Then, reserve.
6. When the meat is browned, squeeze out the soaked bread and add it to the pan with fried tomato, dates, and walnuts. Stir so the ingredients are distributed uniformely and remove the pan from heat.
7. In a small bowl, mix a little bit of salt and pepper. Season the inside of the chicken with that mixture and stuff with the filling with the help of a spoon or with the hand.
8. Once the chicken is stuffed, tie the chicken to retain its shape during baking and afterwards place it in a baking dish.
9. Preheat the oven to 392°F. Prepare the sauce to coat the exterior of our chicken. Start by removing the stem from the rosemary and finely chopping its leaves. Place these in a small bowl. Directly squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the bowl. Add the sweet paprika and whisk together. Lastly, pour in the olive oil and continue to whisk until the oil emulsifies.
10. During baking, remove the tray from the oven every 20 minutes and baste the surface of the chicken with the broth from the tray. When the chicken is nicely browned, take it out of the oven and transfer it to a serving dish to present.
11. Pour the broth into a saucepan to reduce it. Dissolve the cornstarch in a bit of cold water and add it to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the sauce thickens to our liking. Serve our chicken accompanied by the sauce.

Notes and Tips

The baking time will largely depend on the type of oven, the size of the piece, and the baking temperature. If the chicken is very large, we should reduce the oven temperature and extend the cooking time. It's possible that you might need to cover the chicken towards the end of baking if you notice it's getting too browned.