Wild Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Legs Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle both sides liberally with salt and pepper. Place 1/2 cup flour in a bowl and dredge the chicken in the flour. In a large (12-inch) ovenproof pot such as Le Creuset, heat the oil. Add the chicken in three batches (don't crowd them!) and brown lightly over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken to a plate and continue until all the chicken is browned.
• Add the whole garlic cloves, mushrooms, and thyme to the pot and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the sherry and cook for 1 minute, scraping up the brown bits. Add the minced garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the wine, chicken stock, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken (large pieces first), cover, and place in the middle of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through (about 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).
• Remove the chicken to a bowl and discard the thyme. With a fork, mash together the butter and 1/4 cup flour and add it to the sauce. Simmer, stirring constantly, over medium heat for 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Season to taste (it should be highly seasoned), put the chicken back in the sauce, and serve hot.

Steps:

• Rinse porcini with warm water (they are often sandy), then place in a small bowl, cover with hot water and soak until softened, about 15 minutes. In a separate bowl, soak the morels in hot water.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken legs on a baking sheet in one layer. Season generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Roast, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove and set aside. Turn oven to 350 degrees.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to color.
• Add bacon and tomato paste, stir to incorporate with onions, and cook for about 1 minute, then stir in garlic and cayenne. Sprinkle with flour and stir to coat. Add wine and cook for 1 minute, then whisk in turkey broth and bring to a simmer. The sauce will thicken slightly. Add bay leaf and thyme sprig. Drain porcini and morels and add to sauce.
• Submerge browned chicken legs in sauce and bring to a brisk simmer. Cover and transfer pot to oven. Bake for about 1 hour, until chicken is tender. Remove from oven and keep covered.
• While chicken bakes, make the potatoes: Put potatoes in a saucepan and cover with 1 inch of water. Add 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a brisk simmer and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
• Drain potatoes and let cool. Peel potatoes with a paring knife and return to saucepan. (Alternatively, potatoes may be peeled before cooking, or you may opt to leave skins on.) Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer over high heat to warm potatoes through, then set aside, covered.
• To serve, divide legs among 6 warm plates. Spoon sauce and mushrooms over each serving. Sprinkle parsley over potatoes and place a few potatoes on each plate. Transfer remaining potatoes and buttery juices to a serving dish. Serve remaining sauce in a gravy boat if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add zucchini and onion; cook and stir 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Remove from heat. Stir in water, stuffing mix and cheese until well blended. Cover and set aside.
• Insert your fingers carefully between the meat and skin of each chicken leg to form a pocket. Fill pockets evenly with the stuffing mixture. Place, filled sides up, in shallow baking pan.
• Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir the onion and mushrooms with salt and pepper until the mushrooms are dark and juicy, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in the bread crumbs. Set aside.
• Place each chicken breast half between two sheets of heavy plastic (resealable freezer bags work well) on a solid, level surface. Firmly pound the chicken with the smooth side of a meat mallet to an thickness of about 1/4 inch. Lay a flattened chicken breast out onto a work surface, and place a slice of ham on the chicken. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the mushroom stuffing onto the chicken breast, and top with about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the Havarti cheese. Roll the chicken breast around the stuffing, wrap 2 slices of bacon firmly around each roll, and secure with toothpicks. Place the rolls into a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink and the stuffing is melted and hot, about 35 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a roll should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove the chicken rolls from the oven, and place an oven rack about 6 inches from the oven's broiler heat source. Turn on the broiler, and broil the rolls until the bacon is brown, 5 to 10 more minutes.

Steps:

• Boil the kettle, tip the mushrooms into a small bowl, pour over boiling water to just cover, then leave to soak for 15 mins. Drain and squeeze out the mushrooms (save and freeze the liquid to make a base for a gravy) and roughly chop.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan and gently cook the shallots and garlic for 3 mins. Turn up the heat, throw in the mushrooms and cook for a few mins more. Add the spinach, turn the heat up to high and cook until wilted and all the liquid has evaporated. Tip into a bowl and leave to cool. Beat in the cheeses and season with loads of pepper and a little salt. Set aside.
• Take the chicken breasts and remove the small fillet from the back. Cut a slit into the side of each chicken breast then stuff each one with a quarter of the spinach mixture, closing it with the cut-off fillet. Carefully wrap each stuffed chicken breast in a slice of prosciutto and chill until needed. Can be prepared up to a day ahead.
• To cook, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line up the chicken on a baking tray and roast for 20-25 mins until the prosciutto is frazzled at the edges, the cheese is oozing out and the chicken is cooked through.

Steps:

• Firstly neaten the ends of the drumsticks. Using a small sharp knife, make a cut all around each chicken leg, about 4cm up from the knuckle end. Holding the leg like a gun, squeeze it tight to pull the skin taut, then scrape down to the bottom of the bone to remove the tendons and clean the bone, turning the leg as you go (scissors are good for cutting the tendons). Now position your knife across the bottom of the exposed bone and bash the knife with a rolling pin or meat mallet - the bone will break smoothly.
• Lay the chicken legs skin-side down, pull the flaps of skin back and cut the flesh with a very sharp small knife on either side of the thigh bone using a shaving action. Once the bone is exposed, prise it out, then twist and snap it with your fingers to free it from the drumstick. If it doesn't snap clean you may have to cut it. You now have a part-boned chicken leg.
• Lightly sauté the mushrooms in a little hot olive oil for about 5 minutes until lightly browned, season well and leave to cool. Open out the boned chicken legs and spoon in the mushrooms. Cut the end off each chipolata and squeeze the sausagemeat over the mushrooms, using the chipolata skin as a piping bag. Push sausagemeat with your fingers right to the top of the thigh, then close the flaps and pull the skin across to secure. Now roll the legs over to make the parcels as neat as possible, then hold the exposed bone and straighten out each leg.
• Cut 4 sheets of foil (enough to wrap each chicken leg comfortably). Lay 6-7 rashers of pancetta down the centre of each sheet, overlapping slightly, then put the chicken legs crossways over the pancetta and top each leg with 2 sage leaves. Lift up the edge of the foil that is furthest away from you, bring it over the chicken and press down on the chicken, so that the pancetta comes away from the foil and sticks to the chicken. Repeat with the other side of the foil so the chicken legs are all wrapped in pancetta.
• Roll each leg in the foil, tucking it in and pressing it tight to the chicken to form a neat cylinder. Lift the cylinder up by the bone at one end and roll the foil at both ends, twisting to make a cracker shape.
• Preheat oven to fan 200C/conventional 220C/gas 7. Put the chicken parcels on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, turning them twice. Turning them like this ensures they will be evenly coloured. Turn the oven down to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4 and roast for a further 30 minutes, turning once. Remove and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Unwrap, tipping the juices on to a plate.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil and a knob of butter in a non-stick sauté pan until hot and foaming. Put the chicken legs in the pan and brown over a high heat on all sides, basting frequently and turning with a pair of tongs. As they start to brown, add a few small knobs of butter one at a time to the fat in the pan (adding the butter a little at a time keeps it fresh and prevents scorching). Lift the chicken legs from the pan and roll them around in the juices on the plate so they pick up a nice glaze.
• Cut the stuffed thigh meat of each chicken leg on the diagonal into 3 slices each. Don't slice the meat too thin or it will get cold. Spoon the polenta on to the plates, stand the drumsticks in the middle and lay 3 slices of stuffed chicken in front. Drizzle with a little vinaigrette and serve immediately, with roasted tomatoes on the side.

Steps:

• TO MAKE THE STUFFING: Soak the porcini mushrooms in the red wine for 15 to 30 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and strain the wine through a coffee filter to remove any grit. Set the wine aside. Coarsely chop the porcini mushrooms. In a very large sauté pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the porcini mushrooms, garlic, and fresh mushrooms. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the reserved filtered wine and cook until the liquid has evaporated. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 30 seconds. Let cool. Stir in the thyme and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Bone the chicken legs (see REFERANCE & APPENDIX, _Boning A Whole Chicken or A Turkey Leg), then rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Season the leg cavities with salt and pepper, then stuff with the mushroom mixture. Sew the cavities closed with metal or bamboo skewers. Brush or spray the legs all over with olive oil. Grill the stuffed chicken legs over Indirect Medium heat until the meat is firm and the juices run clear, 30 to 40 minutes, turning once halfway through grilling time. For crispier skin, grill over Direct Medium heat during the last 5 to 10 minutes of grilling time. Serve warm.From Weber's Big Book of Grilling. Copyright © 2001 Weber-Stephen Products Co. All rights reserved. First published by Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, California.