This year Christmas 2024, going back to using chicken, as turkey is over my budget. I have changed it to bacon, not using turkey meat. I am stuffing it with rice, bacon, apricots, pine nuts, mushrooms, butter, and parsley. Then rubbing butter, salt, and pepper all over the chicken as well as inside. This time I am putting in the remaining of the bacon rice stuffing into the oven and adding extra ingredients: truffle infused oil, dried oregano, and Italian Seasoning. I am using black truffle infused oil.

Google: “Truffle-infused oil is an oil that has been infused with the flavour and aroma of truffles. It’s typically made by infusing a neutral base oil, like olive, grapeseed, or sunflower oil, with white or black truffles. Truffle oil is often used as a finishing oil to add flavour to dishes. Truffled olive oil adds a distinctive earthy and aromatic flavour to dishes, often used as a finishing touch to enhance various foods from salads to meats. Truffle oil is rich in polyphenols, which are natural compounds with antioxidant properties that can prevent oxidative stress and damage to your cells. Polyphenols can also help reduce inflammation, which is believed to be linked to a long list of chronic conditions, including coronary heart disease.”

We are all celebrating at my sister’s home as this year is her turn to host the party. Roast chicken does seem to be popular in our household here. It’s sure to be crispy and juicy with truffle infused oil, Italian Seasoning and dried oregano boost the flavour. Let’s roast and celebrate Christmas with a twist!!!!

Ingredients

Roast chicken

1 whole chicken size 16, about 3 lb; big enough for stuffing

Skin Coating

60 g softened butter for pushing in the skin
30 g butter, melted
salt
pepper

Rice

4 cups uncooked washed rice; long grain
5 Tbs olive oil
20-25 g butter
4-6 finely chopped garlic
1 L chicken stock
2 chicken cubes or 2 Tsp powder stock 
1 1/2 thumb of ginger cleaned sliced into matchsticks or finely chopped
1 Tbs olive oil
1 1/2 Tsp salt to taste

Bacon stuffing to go with cooked rice

100 g dried apricots, cut into 4 pieces
14-16 medium-sized button mushrooms, cut into 4 pieces
8 rashers of bacon, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 c finely chopped parsley, plus extra
200 g pine nuts, toasted in a frying pan until lightly browned
6 Tbs melted butter, divided
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs Italian Seasoning
1 Tbs dried oregano
Truffle infused oil

Method

To do one day in advance

Open the plastic wrap on the chicken. Clean the chicken with water and pat dry inside and out. Make sure the water inside drips out then place in a paper towel plate and place the chicken in the fridge to air dry it.

Cook rice

Heat oil and butter in a saucepan for 1 minutes until butter melted; cook ginger and garlic till fragrant and golden. Then add rice and stir well to coat in oil and butter. Transfer rice mixture to rice cooker. Next add chicken stock, chicken cubes, 1 Tbs oil and salt into rice mixture. Cook according to rice cooker’s manual instruction. (Note: make sure enough water). Once cooked open the cover of rice cooker to cool the cooked rice and set aside.

The next day prepare bacon stuffing to go with cooked rice

Heat up the oven to 200 degrees C. Toast pine nuts in saucepan until light brown. Set aside. Next cut apricots, mushrooms, and bacon. Then finely chopped parsley. Now spoon the cooled cooked rice into a big deep tray and mix well with the stuffing ingredients. Season well with 2 Tbs melted butter, oil, salt and pepper. Set aside until needed.

Bring out the cleaned air cool dry chicken. Wash hands clean, and gently loosen skin from chicken meat and push 60 g softened butter under. Wash hands again. Put on gloves and place the chicken in a metal deep bowl with the open facing you; use one hand stuff as much of bacon rice stuffing into the cavity use safety pins clip the end so the stuffing will not fall out. Brush with the skin outside with30 g butter melted, salt and pepper all around. Carefully transfer to a rack and place on the oven rack second level or third. Making sure enough space to put another tray directly below the chicken to catch the drippings. Roast for about 40 minutes first.

After 40 minutes, remove the tray with the drippings, and turn the other side; cover with lightly greased aluminium foil and roast further for 20-30 minutes. Now place the remaining bacon rice stuffing into the dripping tray, toss to mix well in the drippings. Add 4 Tbs melted butter, dried oregano, Italian Seasoning, some extra parsley and drizzle some truffle infused oil, gives a couples of stirs. Now put the bacon rice stuffing tray back into the oven to collect some more drippings from the chicken. Remove chicken from oven and foil then brush chicken with skin coating mixture. Continue to roast chicken for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove bacon rice stuffing after about 15-20 minutes from oven and it is warmed up. Transfer to a big bowl and cover with foil. Then remove chicken when its cooked through, let cool. Remove the bacon rice stuffing inside chicken and place together with the remaining bacon rice stuffing; gives a couples of stirs to mix well. Then chop up chicken, place on top of the bacon rice stuffing and serve immediately with other festive food. Enjoy!!!!

Note: You may need more or less time to cook chicken as temperature vary and the size of your chicken. You may use duck stock instead of chicken stock. You may use turkey instead of chicken. You can omit truffle infused oil, dried oregano and Italian Seasoning.

If you are using duck stock. Here’s how to do the stock: Place roast duck carcass in the boiling water for about 2-3 times: boiling and discard water. This is to clean the gunk. Then rinse with cold water and place carcass in fresh boiling water for 35-45 minutes with 1 small thumb of ginger, cleaned, 1 carrot and 1 stalk celery roughly chopped; 1 medium size onion with 4 cloves inserted in onion; salt and black peppercorn; chicken cubes, neck and bishop nose, also duck neck and bishop nose washed and clean.

Lower the heat to gentle simmer cover and uncover don’t want over boiled and spilled. Taste to see enough seasoning. Now discard all the ingredients except duck neck and bishop nose, strain and save 1 L stock for cooking chicken rice, and extra if needed more.

https://helenscchin.com/2024/12/24/roast-chicken-with-bacon-rice-stuffing/

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