Stuffed Pearl Chicken

Ingredients

• 250 ml milk
• 50 g dried morel mushrooms (or 250 g fresh morels)
• 1.2 kg pre-cooked pearl chicken (1 pre-cooked pearl chicken)
• 150 g crème fraîche
• Salt
• black pepper
• 200 g smoked ham (skinless)
• 250 g French shallots
• 250 g shallots
• 4 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. 1.

   Soak the dried morels in an equal amount of water and milk for two to three hours. Clean fresh morels carefully, removing sand, then roughly chop them.

2. 2.

   Preheat the oven (electric stove: 250°C, gas stove: level 5). Rinse the pearl chicken under cold water and pat dry. Season 50 g crème fraîche with salt and pepper, mix in the morels, and fill the chicken with this mixture. Sew the opening shut with kitchen twine and tie the legs and wings to the body.

3. 3.

   Sauté bacon slices in 2 tbsp oil until golden yellow, then line a roasting pan with them. Place the pearl chicken on top of the bacon and roast in the oven on the middle rack for about an hour, basting first with water and later with stock.

4. 4.

   Peel the shallots and brown them in the remaining hot oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

5. 5.

   Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle sugar over the shallots near the end of cooking to caramelize briefly.

6. 6.

   Remove the kitchen twine, arrange the pearl chicken on a plate, and keep warm.

7. 7.

   Take the bacon out of the sauce. Skim off excess fat if needed and thicken the sauce with crème fraîche. Arrange the shallots around the chicken and serve the sauce separately.