Richard Olney's Chicken--butterflied and stuffed under the skin. The ladies got the giggles---
the recipe calls for splitting a chicken up the backbone and flattening it out out, then loosening the skin under each breast half, reaching in further and loosening the skin over the thigh and drumstick as well, then spreading stuffing between the meat and skin. It feels a bit like plastic surgery, and the chicken finishes up looking quite "enhanced."
The meat is so juicy and flavorful, and the skin puffs up like a peking duck.
SPLIT, STUFFED, BAKED CHICKEN
From Simple French Food by Richard Olney
1 whole chicken
1 tsp. crumbled mixed dried herbs (thyme, oregano and savory, or herbs de Provence)
3 Tbs. olive oil
3 oz. fresh white cheese (ricotta or cream cheese)
⅓ cup butter (in all: 2 Tbs. for sautéing zucchini; 1 Tbs. for stewing onion; the remainder for the stuffing
Salt and pepper
Large pinch of finely chopped fresh marjoram leaves (I used fresh oregano)
1 egg
1 medium onion, finely chopped, stewed gently in butter, cooled
1 pound small, firm zucchini, grated, salted, squeezed, sautéed and cooled
Large handful freshly grated Parmesan
Split the chicken the entire length of the back, beginning at the tail, using heavy poultry shears and cutting it, as nearly as possible, through the center of the backbone. Open it out on a chopping board skin side up, the joints joining drumstick and thigh forced inward, facing. With the flat side of a mallet or cleaver--or with the heel of your hand—flatten it out with a firm whack, fracturing breastbone, ribcage structure, collarbone, and wishbone.
Mash the cheese and butter together with seasoning and herbs, using a fork; add the egg, mashing. Stir in the onion and zucchini, and, finally, the Parmesan, adding enough to bring the stuffing to a firm consistency.
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Loosen the skin of the chicken, starting at the neck end. The skin is securely attached by tendons only at the breastbone, drumstick tips, and along the backbone. Elsewhere only fragile and easily ruptured membranes keep the skin and flesh together. Work first with the fingertips then with your whole hand, loosening the skin from one breast, then the thigh and finally the drumstick. Repeat on the other side.
Stuff the chicken, taking a handful of stuffing at a time and forcing it into place, with the fingers of one hand beneath the skin while molding with the other from the outside. Coat drumsticks and thighs well before worrying about the breasts. When all the stuffing is in place, fold the neck-skin flap, if there is any, over the throat opening and tuck it beneath the bird. Tuck the wing tips under. If possible, pierce a hole in the thick skin between the thigh and the tip of the breast on each side and insert the tip of the drumstick. Place the bird in a skillet or baking dish and mold the surface again with your hands to force the skin and stuffing into a plump version of the natural form. Season with salt and pepper.
Roast, starting at 450°F and turning the oven down to 375°F after 10 minutes. Start basting regularly about ½ hour. Count 50 minutes to 1 hour in all, depending on the size of the chicken, and if after about 40 minutes it seems to be coloring too rapidly, turn the oven down further, placing a sheet of foil over the bird.
Transfer to a heated platter and carve at the table—carving is easy; just cut in half down the middle, separate the breast and wing from the leg quarter, cut the leg into thigh and drumstick, and the cut the breast crosswise in two pieces, one with the wing attached.
