Gallina Rellena Estilo Zacatecas...(stuffed Chicken)

This is my friend Saul...He is from Mexico and works with me...he is
my right hand man at my restaurant! He is a great chef! He can cook anything....he is married to a wonderful woman and has two of the sweetest little boys in the world...for Thanksgiving dinner he made this wonderful Chicken dish from his hometown in Zacateca..(I love saying Zacateca say it with me, Zacateca...fun huh?)...I sweetly asked him to please take pictures to show all of you and he kindly obliged! Let's all put our hand's together and welcome Saul!

Gallina Rellena Estilo Zacatecas

    stuffed chicken, zacatecas style

In Mexico, this stuffed chicken is a very special feast...reserved for the most special days....It has a fragrant brown skin, succulent meat, with the most unusual filling....

Gallina Rellena Estilo Zacatecas

1 Roasting Chicken, 5-6 pounds...

2 cups dry sherry

1 cup white wine vinegar

1 large onion, sliced into rings

2 bay leaves

1 tsp of peppercorns

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Stuffing

1 tablespoons safflower oil

1 lb lean ground pork

1 cup of chopped white onions

2 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 cup peeled chopped apple

1/2 cup of raisins

1/2 cup of slivered blanched almonds, toasted

1/2 cup of green olives, chopped

1 slices of french or Italian bread lightly toasted and cut in cubes

1 egg lightly beaten

1-2 tablespoons of chicken broth (if needed)

1/4 tsp of ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

sea salt and fresh pepper

1 tablespoons lard or butter

salt and pepper to taste

Rinse the chicken and pat dry, in a bowl stir together the sherry, vinegar, onion, bay leaves, peppercorn, and cumin to make a marinade...combine the chicken and marinade in a large bowl and marinate 4-6 hours...

To make the stuffing, in a fry pan and over medium heat, warm the oil...Add the pork and saute until cooked through, about 5 minutes...Using a slotted spoon transfer the pork to the plate...Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the oil and pork fat...Add the onion and saute until translucent...Stir in the tomatoes, apple, raisins, almonds and olives and saute until the tomatoes and apples are soft...about 2 minutes..Transfer to a large bowl.  Stir in the cooked pork, bread cubes, and beaten egg. Add the broth if the dressing is too dry. Sprinkle with the cumin and cinnamon, and mix well, and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 350.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry, reserve the marinade in a small sauce pan. Bring the marinade to a boil, then set aside. Rub the bird with the lard or butter, sprinkle the inside of the body and mix with salt and pepper, loosely fill the body cavity of the bird with the warm stuffing and secure the opening...Fold the wing tips under the bird. Spoon any remaining stuffing around the bird...

Place the chicken in the oven and cook for approx. 2 hours, basting every 30 minutes with the reserved sauce...make sure the internal temperature of the Chicken is at least 165..test in many places..

When done take out of the oven and spoon out the stuffing and place in a bowl...place the chicken on a platter and pour the pan juices in a bowl to be spooned onto the slices...Serve...

here are the brine ingredients......

place all in a pan large enough to marinate the chicken in......

heavily pepper the mix...

Turn the chicken in the marinade often.....

the ingredients for the stuffing.....

saute the sausage.....

brown well......

while that is browning, chop your other ingredients.....

remove the sausage from the pan and....

add the onion to brown until translucent......

add the apples......

tomatoes.....

raisins....

almonds.....

and olives.......saute again until the apples are softened....

transfer to a large bowl.....

add the pork to the bowl and the bread cubes......

stir all together......

and add the cumin and cinnamon...

take your chicken (in this case chickens) out of the marinade and pat dry.....

put the marinade in a pan and heat to the boiling point and reserve for basting....

after loosely stuffing the chicken, place in a 350 degree oven for approx 2 hours....be sure to baste often, this enhances the flavor and add moisture to the chicken....

The chicken browns beautifully!

For the holiday table, I suggest serving this with a green salad with pomegranates and red onion and a big bowl of sweet potatoes...

This holiday season enjoy a very festive and flavorful Stuffed Chicken...... Zacateca style!

Cheers to Happy  !!

Saul has promised, before Christmas, he is going to make his tamale recipe and share with us! Can't wait!