Sage Stuffed Poultry

Krytan chefs often choose to add a simple stuffing to their poultry to elevate it to something a little more special. Here is one of the most popular bread stuffings. It's typically used as a filling for moa breasts. Sometimes smaller birds are left whole and the body cavity is filled instead.


To be perfectly honest, I generally prefer the stuffing as a side dish rather than a filling. Going to the trouble of actually filling your poultry does make it feel much fancier though. Whichever route you choose, it makes for a delicious, satisfying meal.


This is a good, solid, reliable recipe without too many moving parts or complications. Many chefs choose to add a few extra ingredients and seasonings in along the way to create more interesting flavours. That said, at least as many chefs (and a great many home cooks) opt for the simple, uncomplicated flavours of this base recipe. If you want to try playing around with the flavours, I can definitely recommend sautéing some onion, garlic, and celery in the butter for the stuffing. Adding a few more herbs to the stuffing is another lovely option. I'm partial to Divinity Fair Herbs1 myself. I also enjoy adding a little bit of garlic along with the sage when seasoning the chicken. Not too much; you don't want to overpower the sage. Just a hint.

Sage Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients

Stuffing

  • 200g bread
  • 3/4 c. chicken stock
  • 1/4 c. butter, melted
  • 1/2 Tbsp. dried sage
  • pinch of ground black pepper
  • 1 egg

Chicken

  • 4 boneless chicken breasts2 (600-700g)
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 Tbsp. dried sage
  • 2 Tbsp. butter

Directions

Stuffing

  1. Tear the bread into bite-sized pieces.
  2. Bake at 120°C (250°F) until dry and crisp (~20 minutes).
  3. Transfer bread pieces to large bowl and drizzle with stock and butter.
  4. Add sage and pepper and mix well.
  5. Lightly beat egg and add it to the bread mixture, stirring to combine.
  6. Transfer mixture to greased baking dish, cover, and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30-40 minutes.
  7. Uncover and set aside to cool.

Chicken

  1. Cut horizontally into -- but not all the way through -- each piece of chicken, creating a pocket.
  2. Fill each pocket with 2 or 3 Tbsp. of the stuffing. (You will have some stuffing left over.)
  3. Season chicken with salt and pepper and sprinkle with sage.
  4. Melt butter over medium heat.
  5. Add chicken to pan and cook until underside is nicely browned (7-10 minutes).
  6. Flip and cook until other side achieves a similar colour.
  7. If breasts are particularly large or thick, you may have to cover the pan for part of the cooking to ensure they cook all the way through3.
  8. Serve with mashed potatoes and vegetable dish of choice.



1 A mixture of parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. (I think it may have another name over here...) Back
2 May be either skinless or skin-on. Skin-on is more typical in Tyria (and a bit more flavourful). Skinless is a bit more healthful. Back
3 Pink colour should be gone and juices should run clear. If you have an instant read thermometer, you can look for an internal temperature of 73°C (~165°F). Check the stuffing, rather than the chicken for temperature. Back

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