Chicken Relleno
Relleno is mostly deboned chicken or any meat and roasted, filled with ground meat mixed with seasonings and vegetables. Because of its name, some assumed it originated from Spain; however, unknown to many, it was really from France. The difference between a galantina and a relleno is that galantina, which is a Filipino adaptation of their classic French galantine, is that it is a deboned chicken, cooked in a stock and it is usually served cold. Hence, the relleno is usually served warm right after it was roasted. Filipino likes to serve it with the legs and wings still intact to its body so it resembles a bird instead of a large cylinder. Although it originated in France, the galantina or relleno serving on wealthy festive in the Philippines during the time of Spanish colonial. For many Filipino families, it is a tradition to serve it during Noche Buena dish.
The deboning part of the chicken is the most difficult part of cooking this dish. The technique in deboning the chicken is to leave the wings and the leg on, which gives the chicken a nice form. Once you past this easy step, then everything will be a breeze.
Most modern relleno recipes requires for a variety of canned meats like pimientos, Vienna sausage and hotdogs. Although some wants to put chorizo, some opted for a more American style by putting bacon instead. Typically, some experts in preparing relleno add a hard-boiled egg, which is positioned at the center of the chicken; however, to some who cannot master the act of putting the egg inside, chooses to skip this part. Raisins are added also to the filling but some does not want any sweetness in their filling.
Ingredients
- 2 lb whole chicken
- 2 lb whole chicken
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1/4 lb smoked bacon; diced
- 1 onion; diced
- 3 cloves garlic; minced
- 1 pc red bell pepper; diced
- 1 carrot; grated
- 1/4 lb button mushrooms; quartered
- 1 pc egg
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp salt
- 6 green olives; minced
- 1/4 cup golden raisins (optional)
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- First thing to do is to debone the chicken. The best way is to make sure the chicken breast is facing towards you and separate the breast meat from the chicken bone. Through its neck cavity, continue working your way around its carcass, which separates the leg joints from the chicken’s main bone structure. From there, the only bone that should remain is the drumsticks and the wings.
- Over medium heat, sauté the bacon and wait until it becomes crisp and brown. Set aside.
- Put the mushroom in the bacon grease and sauté it until brown. Set aside together with the bacon
- Sauté carrots, pepper and garlic and set aside
- Add the onion, beef, pork, olives salt, raisins, pepper, cornstarch and egg. Mix thoroughly with your hands.
- Preheat your oven to 400o F or 200oC
- Rub the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Brush the exterior with melted butter. Make sure to sew the chicken’s tail cavity with a kitchen string, carefully stuff the chicken with the filling. Sew the neck cavity to close the opening.
- Bake it for 30 minutes or until it becomes brown evenly.
- Allow it to rest before slicing. Serve hot.
