A baked Chicken Roulade is a great cold meat for picnics or with your favourite salad on those hot summer days. It is also delicious served warm with your favourite sauce and baked vegetables.  Why buy cold meats when you can prepare your own using the freshest ingredients and home grown herbs.

Baked Chicken Roulade

Ingredients

• 1 full chicken breast
• 8 full rashers of bacon
• butter
• rosemary
• salt and ground black pepper
• chicken seasoning
• 2 cups of chicken stock

Stuffing

• 500 g pork and veal mince
• 1 medium onion
• 3 rashers of bacon or 3 pieces of ham
• 30 g butter
• 1 small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• 4 sage leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tblsp rosemary, finely chopped
•  pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp chicken seasoning
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup of breadcrumbs
• salt and ground black pepper
• 2 tblsp olive oil

Method

Stuffing

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a large saucepan
2. Add chopped onion and cook until transparent.
3. Add chopped bacon until browned
4. Add the minced pork and veal and brown well
5. Stir in the herbs and spices combining the mixture well
6. Add the cup of breadcrumbs and thoroughly combine
7. Stir through the beaten egg. The mixture should be well combined and moist. If needed add some milk to make the mixture come together.
8. Set aside to cool while you prepare the chicken

Chicken

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 C
2. Open out the breast and with a sharp cooks knife cut into sides of each edge of the breast to butterfly and thin out.
3. Place a piece of baking paper over the chicken breast and flatten with a heavy rolling pin to make it a little thinner
4. Season the chicken with salt, ground black pepper and chicken seasoning.
5. Dot the whole chicken breast with small pieces of butter
6. Lay rashers of bacon down the chicken breast
7. When the stuffing is cold put stuffing all across the chicken and pat down
8. Roll the chicken breast across forming one long roll.
9. Tie well with string to hold the roll together, tying it tightly at the ends to hold the stuffing in.
10. Tie in rosemary sprigs into the sting to hold it in place
11. Pour 2 cups of chicken stock into a baking pan to cover the base
12. Place the chicken roll into the pan
13. Drape bacon rashers across the the whole chicken roulade to cover it completely.
14. Make a tent of foil over the baking pan and bake for 2 hours
15. Test with a meat thermometer. The chicken roulade will be cooked when the internal temperature reaches 165 C
16. Remove the bacon rashers and rosemary and baste with pan juices with the foil off for a further 5 minutes to colour a little, basting often
17. It can be served warm cut into thick slices after allowing it to sit for 1/2 hour or cooled and refrigerated as follows:
18. Remove from oven and cool quickly by transferring  to a deep glass baking dish and rest it in cold water in the sink till cool.
19. When cold cover in foil and refrigerate.
20. Serve sliced thinly as an accompaniment to your favourite salad

The chicken roulade is delicious served hot or cold and it  keeps well and the flavours develop even further over time.

Serve with brandied cherry sauce or a good cranberry sauce and baked vegetables or with a salad.