Ingredients
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400 g chicken legs
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1 Tsp Black pepper
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1/2 Tsp Salt
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1 Tsp Hot paprika powder
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1 Tsp Chillie flakesoptional
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1 Tsp Thymefinely chopped
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2 cloves Garlic
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1 Tsp Rosemary
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2 Tbsp Olive oil
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2 Tbsp Butter
Directions
Chicken roulade is something we both haven’t tried before so we’ve been waiting to make it for some time, seemed a very simple dish. To say it was simple would be an understatement, although it’s not very complex we had a time trying to role the chicken and to add to that our fresh film didn’t adhere to itself, so this made it difficult to role the chicken and hold the shape. We managed to hold it together using a twine yarn to add a bit more luck.
Now that it’s out of the way we want to let you know that this is our take on the dish and we have seen many different varieties of this to make this chicken role, no matter if you bake it, boil, steam or fry, you will get a good taste. In our recipe, we sous vide the meat to slow cook but you can do just as well with boiling it in a sealed bag, just make sure that the water would not go inside the bag or you will have a soup. We tried steaming the role after additionally wrapping it in aluminium foil and it was also good. just make sure that depending on the primary cooking method (boil, sous vide, steam, bake) cooking time will vary. We used the chicken leg with skin as we found having the skin as outer layer improved taste and gave a very nice golden colour. Sous vide will take about 3 hours and under low flame boiling it should take about 50 minutes same time can be used for steaming.
We added some herbs and chillies to cater to our spicy palate but let your imagination run wild with how you want to make it taste, we recommend that you don’t add things that would add water (garlic, onion etc) to the inside as this will make the meat separate. Once boiling is done there will be some meat drippings inside the bag we used this to make a simple sauce. To do this, on an oiled pan add a teaspoon of flour and fry until brown in colour add the dripping to add flavour and salt pepper to taste.
Hope you enjoy this simple but amazing recipe.
By the way, we used herbs from our garden if you like to see how we grew basil check out our post.
Steps
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1
Done
no rush take your time
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Debone the chickenTo start with flip the chicken leg over to the bone side, in side of the thigh pull the bone out, take the sharp edge of a knife along the bone to cut through the connecting tissue with the bone. once you have cleared the flesh on single side of the bone stand it up and using your knife scrape the flesh from top of the thigh until the joint by scpaing against the bone. This will relase the remaining meat attached to the bone. Next step is to remove the backbone which is a triangular-shaped bone which you can feel on the fingers. Slide the knife under and start cutting away the triangular-shaped bone from the meat beneath, pull it open and cut all the way through to remove the backbone. Do the same on the leg and start cutting till the bone on the same side as you did on the thigh. Finally you should have a flat piece of chicken with skin on one side and flesh on the other. This is the only hard part and if you did this you deserve good pat on the back. On the bright side this exercise can improve your patientce. |
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2
Done
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Tenderize the meatNow that the chicken is separated lay the skin side of the meat on your cutting board and using a mallet, pan or a any reasonably shaped hard object hit the meat to make it more tender. It will help if you can first place a cloth or cling film to cover the meat to avoid splashing meat everywhere. |
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3
Done
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Spice up the meatPlace a plastic wrap over the cutting board lay two pieces of the chicken facing skin side down. Add salt and pepper on the flesh side of your meat. Additionally, we added chopped up thyme and rosemary along with some chilli flakes and paprika powder to add flavour. you can add just salt and pepper at this stage or be creative in adding what you like. |
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4
Done
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Wrap the chickenGently start rolling the chicken into a role using your plastic wrap support. Once you have wrapped it into what should look like an oversize sausage,tighten the edges of the plastic wrap like a toffee. It is important to tightly wrap the chicken as this will help bind the meat together and make it into a complete role. if you feel that its loose and there is space further tighten by twisting both sides of the plastic wrap on the opposite direction. Poke some holes around the package with a toothpick. Ok, this part is slightly tricky but well worth the effort when you see the final product. |
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5
Done
3 hours
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Slow cookPlace the rolled chicken in a cook proof plastic bag (good ziplock bag would do) and cook in 60c hot water for close to 3 hours. We did it in sous vide but can easily be done in a pot of water under low heat. |
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6
Done
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Fry the chicken rouladeAfter 3 hours remove the chicken from the plastic bag and cut open the plastic wrap. You should now have an oversized chicken sausage :) Add olive oil and butter to a frying pan, add garlic and rosemary bring the pan up to heat. Place the chicken in the pan and base (pour hot oil over with a spoon) it with the oil in the pan, change the side of the chicken to get a golden-brown crust on all sides. |
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7
Done
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serve hot with a sauceSlice the chicken roulade into about half an inch pieces and serve hot with a sauce |
