Roast Chicken Basted with Cream, Herb and Giblet Stuffing
In this lush combination, the chicken is roasted as usual, but is basted for the last minutes with heavy cream, which rolls off the buttery, brown chicken skin and combines with the pan and stuffing juices.
Servings
5
Servings
5
Instructions
Herb and giblet stuffing
  1. Sauté the gizzard in hot butter and oil for 2 minutes. Then stir in the heart, liver, and shallots or onions. Sauté for 2 minutes more, or until the liver has stiffened but is still rosy inside. Scrape into a mixing bowl.
  2. Blend in the rest of the ingredients and taste carefully for seasoning. Let the stuffing cool.
  3. Sprinkle salt inside the chicken, and loosely fill with the stuffing. Sew or skewer the vent. Truss and dry the chicken, and rub its skin with butter.
Roasting the chicken
  1. Roast it either in the oven, or on a spit. About 10 minutes before the end of the estimated roasting time, remove all but 1 spoonful of fat from the roasting pan. Start basting with 2 or 3 tablespoons of cream every 3 to 4 minutes until the chicken is done. The cream will probably look curdled in the pan, but this will be corrected later.
  2. Remove the chicken to a hot platter and sprinkle with salt.
The sauce
  1. Add the stock or bouillon to the cream in the roasting pan and boil rapidly for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping up coagulated chicken roasting juices.
  2. Just before serving, remove from heat and stir in additional cream by spoonfuls to smooth out the sauce. Correct seasoning, and add drops of lemon juice to taste.
  3. Spoon a bit of sauce over the chicken and send the rest to the table in a warmed sauceboat.
Recipe Notes

VEGETABLE SUGGESTIONS:
Serve sautéed mushrooms and sautéed potatoes, or green peas and braised onions.

WINE SUGGESTIONS:
A chilled white Burgundy or white Graves, or a red Bordeaux-Médoc would be appropriate.