A Chicken Maryland is the name given to a cut that is a chicken drumstick and thigh connected. It’s a perfect portion size per adult, as a ‘mini-roast’ is quick to cook, stays moist and when boned, easy to fill and introduce flavour.
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
4 x free-range Chicken Marylands
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
120 g Hippie Veggie Macadamia & Mushroom Cheese
2 tbsp mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped
zest of a small lemon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 egg
sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper
cotton kitchen string or strong toothpicks
30 g unsalted butter
1 sml lemon, juiced
extra virgin olive oil
4 sml handfuls of rocket or baby spinach
1 tbsp fresh dill, the tips roughly picked
Method
- Preheat oven to 220 c.
- Cut the thigh bone out of the chicken marylands and place skin side down on a clean bench.
- Using clean hands, mix the breadcrumbs, Hippie Veggie Macadamia & Mushroom Cheese, herbs, lemon zest, nutmeg, egg, salt and pepper together and form small log shapes.
- Place in the centre of the thigh meat where the bone was and is now the perfect sized cavity for stuffing.
- Pull the sides together to cover the filling. Using kitchen string or strong toothpicks either tie or skewer together to hold the filling in.
- Using the unsalted butter in a hot pan, brown the filled chicken before transferring to a baking tray and roasting in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes.
- Leave to rest for 5 minutes.
- Scrape the cooking juices into a bowl and mix with the lemon juice and a little extra virgin olive oil to make a dressing. Season to taste.
- Carve and serve the chicken on a bed of baby spinach with the dressing drizzled over the top.
- Garnish with fresh dill tips.
Recipe Notes
- Roll excess stuffing into teaspoon-sized dumplings. Prepare alongside the chicken, frying and baking the same cooking time.
