serves
4–6
prep
3:25 hours
cook
2 hours
difficulty
Mid
serves
4–6
people
preparation
3:25
hours
cooking
2
hours
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 1 cleaned organic free-range broiler chicken, including stomach, heart, liver, lungs & unborn eggs
- 1 bunch myrtle leaves
- tip of a tsp continental parsley
- tip of a tsp tomato paste or finely chopped sun dried tomatoes
- handful of breadcrumbs
- tip of a tsp saffron powder
- sea salt
- 1 fresh egg
- kitchen string
- needle and cotton
Instructions
Finely chop the heart, lungs and liver and place in a bowl. Add tomato paste, parsley, saffron, whisked egg, 1 teaspoon breadcrumbs, little bit of salt. If too runny add some more breadcrumbs. Add eggs and put aside.
Take chicken and tie kitchen string around the neck opening to prevent filling from running out. Place the prepared filling inside the chicken. Twice sew the chicken with needle and cotton very finely to prevent leakage.
With kitchen string, tie legs and wings to prevent breakage whilst boiling.
Put chicken in a pot of water, enough to cover the chicken, add a handful of salt and 1 myrtle stick (a fingers length), bring water to boiling point and then simmer for 45 minutes to 2 hours. This depends on the age of the chicken. An average time would be 1 hour.
When cooked, take chicken from water and place in a terracotta bowl. Sprinkle ½ bunch of myrtle leaves and some salt. Cover with lid or a tea towel and let cool for at least 2-3 hours.
Using kitchen scissors, cut string and stitching from chicken. Cut the chicken into pieces leaving the bones in. Be careful not to break the filling. Add a little bit of salt on the filling and chicken if needed, with the remaining myrtle.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
