We hope you enjoyed your cookery class at Food Sorcery, if you have any questions for chef get in touch and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
We learnt: How to butcher whole chicken and how to cook all of its parts: We made broth, Tuscan chicken breasts, Buffalo drumsticks and stuffed thigh ballottine.
How to butcher a chicken
Ingredients
- 1x whole chicken
- Sharp chef’s knife or boning knife (ideally poultry scissors, but not necessary)
Method
- It will cost you roughly same amount of money to buy a whole chicken as a pack of 2 breasts. And you will get 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings and carcass extra.
- How to cut your chicken into 4 pieces:
- You will end up having 2 breasts with drummettes attached (1st bone of the wing) as well as 2 full legs (containing drumsticks and thighs).
- First cut the pointy ends of the wings, keep them for your stock
- Next get rid of the wishbone, which is located directly at the neck of the chicken
- Gently cut alongside each side of the wishbone, whicj will detach it from the breast
- Run your finger along both sides and detach the bone. You can keep aside for superstitious funtimes.
- To separate the legs, grab them by its drumsticks and pull away from the body, stretching the skin.
- Cut between the body and leg, only through the skin, don’t go too deep.
- Pul the leg and twist it until the joint pops out of its socket.
- Now just cut through the exposed joint to completely separate the leg.
- Next we need to remove the backbone, ideally using strong poultry scissors
- Cut alongside the spine on both sides which removes the spine, save it for your stock again.
- To split the breasts, place them skin side down on your chopping board and cut throught the bone in the middle.
- And that’s how you cut chicken into 4 pieces
- To portion the chicken further, into 8 pieces, we need to separate drumsticks and thighs, also wings from breasts.
- Grab each leg, find the joint between thighs and drumsticks, cut through it and repeat with the other leg.
- To separate wings from breasts, place the breasts skin side up, locate the joint between them and cut through.
- Now we have 8 pieces of chicken.
- If you wish to debone the breasts completely, place each breast bone side up on the chopping board and place tip of your knife against the breastbone, near the thicker part.
- Cut along the curve of the ribcage.
- Gently pull the meat away from the bone, make sure you don’t leave the mini tenderloin behind.
Chicken Broth
Serves 2
Ingredients
- chicken carcass parts and wings
- 1 white onion, diced
- 2 celery sticks, peeled and diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- handful of parsley, whole
- 1 bayleaf
- a few sprigs of thyme, leaves only
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed and chopped
- 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1.5L of cold water
Method
- Place the the chicken carcasses and any bits, apart from fatty skin, into a medium sauce pan and cover with water.
- Place over medium-low heat and gently start warming it up, the key to achieve clear broth is not to boil it too vigorously.
- Add all the other ingredients, cook for at least 1 hour.
- Discard bones, bay leaf,parsley and peppercorns.
- You can strain your broth through a cheese cloth for clearer results, but that’s not necessary.
Tuscan Chicken Breasts
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, butterflied for faster cooking time
- salt and pepper
- handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1tbsp of butter
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 1/2 cup of double cream
- 50ml of white wine
- 3 sprigs of fresh oregano leaves
- 1/4 cup of grated parmesan
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- handful of parsley, chopped
- 2tbsp of olive oil
Method
- Grab a large frying pan, ideally deeper/oven-proof one, and warm it up over medium heat, also preheat the oven to 185C.
- Add a splash of oil, season chicken breasts and pan-fry them on both sides until golden brown, they won’t be cooked through at this stage. Set aside to rest.
- Add another splash of oil in the same pan and fry onions, oregano leaves and garlic for a couple of minutes.
- Add white wine, let it reduce down a bit before adding double cream and cherry tomatoes- bring it to simmer, pop chicken on top and bake it in the oven for 12 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Finish it with grated parmesan and chopped parsley.
- Serve with crusty bread, polenta or pasta.
Buffalo Drumsticks
Serves 1
Ingredients
- 2 drumsticks or chicken legs
- 1/2tsp of smoked paprika
- 1/4tsp of garlic powder
- salt and pepper
- splash of oil
- 1/4 cup of Frank’s hot sauce
- 50g of butter
- To serve:
- 1 celery stalk
- ranch dressing
Method
- Preheat the oven to 185C
- Mix chicken with oil, salt and pepper, paprika and garlic powder
- Place it in a tray and bake for about 35 minutes
- Meanwhile, place your hot sauce and butter in a pan bring it to simmer and cook for 3 minutes
- Toss chicken in the sauce and serve with celery sticks and ranch dressing
Stuffed Thigh Ballottine
Ingredients: Serves 2
- 2 chicken skinless chicken thighs
- 1 small shallot, diced
- 2tbsp of diced pancetta
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed and chopped
- a handful of diced mushrooms of your choice
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- a handful of spinach
- 2tbsp of ricotta
- 1tbsp of olive oil
- 1tbps of chopped parsley
- Salt and pepper
- You will also need: cling film and rolling pin
Method
- First, add a small splash of oil in a frying pan, add spinach and cook it until wilted, season and set aside to cool.
- Add pancetta in the pan with a small splash of oil and cook until crispy.
- Add shallot, thyme and garlic and cook them for a couple of minutes.
- Add mushrooms and cook them for roughly five minute, until all the liquid from mushrooms has evaporated.
- Squeeze the all water from spinach with your hands and mix it with mushrooms, pancetta etc. in the pan.
- Add ricotta and parsley, combine well and correct the seasoning.
- Place your thighs in two sheets of cling film and bash them with a rolling pin until they are about 0.5′ thick
- join them together so they resemble a larger rectangle
- Top the chicken “rectangle” with the filling, keeping roughly 1′ away from the edges
Next, roll the chicken, using the cling film and tight the sides, the parcel needs to be airtight.
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook chicken rolls for 15 minutes.
Remove from water and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Add a splash of oil into a frying pan, open the parcel and pat-dry the chicken.
Saute the chicken until golden brown all over, slice and serve.
We hope you enjoyed the class!
We really hope you enjoyed your class at Food Sorcery. If you have any questions for chef please do ask and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
If you have the time it would be great if you could leave a review on Tripadvisor or google. If you have any feedback about the class please do let us know.
Review us on TripAdvisor or Google
Take a look at our classes online, booking is easy and you’ll be sent a confirmation email. Cookery gift vouchers are available and never expire.
