Roast Chicken with Fresh Herb Stuffing

Recently I bought a George Foreman Contact roaster, pre-owned but new and not used. It worked exceptionally well to cook a moist roast chicken easily and with no mess.

This recipe uses a bread and herb stuffing to give the chicken flavour. Freshly picked herbs from the garden, sage, rosemary, parsley, celery and onion along with some dry seasonings make up the stuffing. The result is a moist and tender, flavourful roast chicken. If you don’t have a George Foreman roaster I have included the oven baking instructions.

A well cooked flavourful roast chicken is always a favourite for lunch or dinner.

Roast Chicken with Fresh Herb Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 x 1.6 kg Organic whole chicken
2 slices day old wholemeal bread, roughly torn
1 Spanish onion, quartered
5 sage leaves
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and 4 extra to place on the outside of the chicken,
1 small bunch of fresh parsley, leaves and stalks
1/2 stalk of celery, taken from the top with the leaves
Italian Herb Seasoning, (Mc Cormick’s)
Chicken Seasoning, (Mc Cormick’s)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
20g butter, chopped into pieces
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method:

Herb Stuffing:

Using a food processor with the chopping blade, add the bread, butter, sage, rosemary, celery leaves and stalks, and the parsley
Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and sprinkle over Italian herbs and Chicken seasoning
Pulse until all the ingredients are well combined
Set aside with some extra sprigs of rosemary

Preparing the Chicken:

Using kitchen paper, pat the chicken dry outside and the internal cavity
Season the cavity with of salt
Spoon the prepared herb stuffing loosely into the cavity and bring together the skin at the opening with a skewer or toothpicks
Tie the legs together with kitchen twine
Rub the outside of the chicken with Extra Virgin Olive oil
Sprinkle the surface of the skin with abundant chicken seasoning and a little mild paprika if desired. Sprinkle salt over the surface of the chicken and a little freshly ground black pepper
Place the extra sprigs of rosemary into the crevices of the thighs and wings
If you are using the George Foreman Contact Roaster, spray the inner surfaces of the roaster with the Extra Virgin Olive oil spray and preheat the unit. When the roaster is ready place the chicken inside the unit, close and set for 80 minutes. near the end of the cooking time, check the internal temperature with an oven thermometer piercing into the thigh. Cook until the temperature reaches 180ºC. Also test into the stuffing. This should have reached 165ºC . There should be no pink meat and the juices run clear. Add extra time if necessary.
If you are baking your chicken in the oven, Preheat oven to 200º Fan Forced. Pour olive oil over the base of a roasting pan and place the prepared chicken into the pan. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then lower the heat to 180º C Fan Forced, remove the foil and cook until the chicken is cooked through. Test with an oven thermometer inserted into the thigh. The temperature should read 180ºC once fully cooked. Also test into the stuffing. This should have reached 165ºC . There should be no pink meat and the juices run clear. Add extra time till these temperatures have been reached
When the chicken is cooked remove to a plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for 10 minutes.
When rested, carve the roast chicken and serve with some of the delicious herb stuffing, a green garden salad and crusty sourdough bread