Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Bulgur-Stuffed Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

Adapted from The New York Times recipe for Kasha-Stuffed Roast Chicken. I used bulgur instead of kasha since I didn't have it on hand, and I also brined the chicken beforehand. This dish was a delicious rendition of Jewish comfort food - the apples really bring the flavor together, and you're left with drippings in the pan that can pretty much stand on their own as gravy - yum!


Ingredients

1 cup salt
1 cup sugar
6 T vegetable oil
3 onions, 1 diced and 2 coarsely chopped
1 cup bulgur wheat
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c diced celery
1 c sliced mushrooms
2 T finely chopped fresh parsley
1 T finely chopped fresh sage
1 roasting chicken, ~4-5 pounds
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound unpeeled red potatoes, halved
3 tart apples, cored and quartered
4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
4 parnsips, peeled and cut into chunks
1 T chopped fresh rosemary

Instructions

1) Before you begin, brine the chicken for 2 hours (you can prepare the bulgur and vegetables during this time). Mix 1 cup salt, 1 cup sugar, 1 gallon of water. Submerge the chicken in the mixture and chill in the fridge for two hours. Before preparing the chicken, pat dry with a paper towel.
2) In a skillet over medium heat, heat 2T oil, and sauté diced onion until golden. Remove from heat and set aside. Preheat oven to 375F.
3) Sautee the bulgur in 2T oil for several minutes until toasted in a large skillet, then add 1.25 cups boiling water. Add cooked onions, celery, mushrooms, parsley and sage. Cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occassionally. The final texture should be fluffy, tender, and slightly chewy.
4)
Rub exterior of chicken with 1T of or oil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stuff both cavities of chicken with bulgur mixture.
5) In bottom of roasting pan, combine potatoes, apples, carrots, parsnips and chopped onions. Toss with 1T oil and rosemary to coat. Gently place chicken on top of vegetables (if you have a V-rack definitely use it) and bake until golden and cooked through, about 1.5 hours. (The chicken is done when an instant thermometer reads 160 in the thickest part of the breast, and 175 in the thickest part of the thigh.)

To serve, carve chicken as desired and serve each portion with some of vegetables and apples.

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