Chicken Mini Roast with Stuffing

Perfect weeknight roast chicken with stuffing & gravy

Course Main, Main Course

Cuisine Australian, Modern Australian

Total Time 55

Servings

Calories 415kcal

Author Lee-Ann Grace

Ingredients

4 skinless boneless chicken thighs - trimmed approx 500g - any thicker sections beaten out slightly
4 rashers streaky bacon rind removed
1 ¼ cup fresh bread crumbs - firmly packed I use sourdough
3 tablespoon salted butter - melted divided plus extra if required
1 egg lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ tsp + a good pinch ground sage divided
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
pinch fine salt
1 ½ tablespoon plain flour
1 ½ cups chicken stock
8 toothpicks

Instructions

Pre heat oven to 180 c / 355 f fan forced. Line a low sided, rimmed baking tray/sheet with baking paper & set aside.
Place breadcrumbs in a small bowl along with onion powder, garlic, ¼ teaspoon sage, thyme, marjoram & salt then mix lightly.
Add 2 tablespoon melted butter to breadcrumbs and mix to combine well, then add beaten egg and mix until well combined.
Place bacon rashers vertically on a clean work surface, then place one chicken thigh smooth side down on each rasher of bacon to form a cross or "+" shape.
Take ¼ of breadcrumb mixture and compress with your hands to form a rough oval shape patty, then place patty in the center of the chicken thigh - the patty will run the same direction as the bacon.
Bring up both sides of the chicken thigh to wrap around the patty, then bring up both ends of the bacon to cross over the top of the mini roast then secure each bacon end with a toothpick and place on prepared tray (see notes).
Using a pastry brush, brush the remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter evenly over the mini roasts, and bake for 30 - 35 mins or until cooked through & stuffing has crispy edges.
To make gravy, remove mini roasts from baking sheet/tray and keep warm, then carefully pour the remaining butter & pan drippings into a small saucepan, adding extra butter if needed & mix in the plain flour (see notes).
Stir butter & flour mixture over low heat until mixture starts to look grainy & bubbly.
Switch off the heat, then add stock in approximately ¼ cup amounts (stir well with each addition until there are no lumps before adding the next ¼ cup - once this mixture is the consistency of thin cream you can add the remaining stock.
Add a good pinch of powdered sage & simmer until gravy has thickened slightly, taste & season if required.
Remove toothpicks to serve if you wish, top with gravy & serve.

Notes

I cook these mini roasts on a rimmed baking sheet. It needs to have sides because there will be some melted butter & chicken juices in the pan when the cooking is finished. I like to use something with low sides - it helps the chicken & bacon brown up better due to the better heat circulation.

I suppose that strictly speaking the gravy is optional - but what's a roast without gravy? If you don't make the gravy you can cut 10 mins from the cooking time.

A note on the pan drippings/butter that we are using to make the gravy - this one of those times you will have to make a judgement call as to whether to add extra butter if required. It will depend on how much melted butter is left after cooking - only you can be the judge at the time. For the mini roasts that you see here in my photos, I added about 2 teaspoon of extra butter to make the gravy.

I actually used my baking paper as a funnel (carefully!) to pour the butter & drippings into the saucepan.

*Please note that the amount of calories per serve is provided as a guide only, as ingredients and cooking methods can vary greatly*

Nutrition