Chicken Ginger Sausage Studded With Truffle Food

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH TRUFFLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat about a tablespoon of fat in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Set the mushrooms aside to cool.
• Combine the thyme and rosemary and rub the mixture over the boned (skinless) side of the chicken. Season the skin side with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons fat in a large ovenproof skillet, over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, brown the chicken, skin-side down until the skin is crisp, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Lay a slice of foie gras (if using) over the thigh of each chicken. Fold the breasts over the thighs so that the breasts sit on the thigh and leg meat and the skin is on the outside. Fit a metal ring over each chicken-half to hold the meat in a compact shape.
• Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast, basting the chicken several times with pan juices. Cook until the thighs reach and internal temperature of at least 140 degrees F. and the juices run clear, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside to rest for 10 minutes in a warm place.
• Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons the fat from the skillet. Add the mushrooms, truffle oil, and cream and heat over medium-high heat, scraping any browned bits from the pan's bottom. Simmer until the cream reduces enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, then season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Remove the molds from the chicken and arrange on warm plates. Spoon the sauce around the chicken and serve with French green beans, carrots, and ratatouille if desired.

CHICKEN-GINGER SAUSAGE STUDDED WITH TRUFFLE

Steps:

• Grind the chicken with the fatback using fine blade of meat grinder.
• Sauté onion in butter until it is soft. Do not allow butter to color.
• Add onion, foie gras, truffles, chives and ginger to chicken mixture. Mix well.
• Stir in egg whites and cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Using sausage stuffer, stuff casings. Twist and tie every 4 to 5 inches.
• Poach sausages in chicken stock very slowly for 15 minutes. Cool in stock. To serve, reheat in poaching liquid.

CHICKEN SUPREME WITH TRUFFLE AND SAGE

Steps:

• For the chicken: Loosen the skin from the breast and wing by inserting fingers, gently pushing between the skin and meat. Insert the truffle slices under the loosened skin over the breast and wing. Cover with sage leaves and put the skin back. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F.
• In a large skillet, on high heat, sear the chicken pieces skin-side down and finish cooking in the oven for 15 minutes.
• For the sauce: Reduce the chicken stock by 1/2 for 30 minutes. Add the Dijon mustard and lemon juice. Slowly add the butter, whisking constantly until emulsified. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Serve the chicken with oven-roasted Jerusalem artichokes, recipe follows.
• Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F.
• Cut the artichokes in half.
• In a bowl, mix everything together. Put on a baking tray, flesh-side down and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until caramelized and tender.

TRUFFLE AND PISTACHIO SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Put the ground pork into a large bowl. Add the wine, garlic, pepper, curing salt, pistachios, and truffles, if using. Mix well with your hands. Divide the mixture in half. Form and press each half into a sausage about 8-inches long and 2-inches in diameter. Take care to press the mixture firmly enough to eliminate air bubbles, which would result in unsightly holes in the sausages. Wrap individually in plastic wrap, twisting the ends to enclose the sausages, and then roll each of them in aluminum foil, twisting the ends of the foil. Refrigerate for at least 3 days to cure. (Freeze 1 of the sausages, if desired, and thaw it slowly in the refrigerator before cooking.)
• The very important part of poaching these sausages is to do it at a low temperature for a long time. This makes a big difference in the taste and juiciness of the meat. Bring a pot of water to between 150 and 160 degrees F. Lower the wrapped sausages into the pot, and place a heavy lid that is a little smaller than the top of the pot on top of the sausages to weigh them down in the pot and keep them immersed in the water. Cook in the same temperature range, checking the pot occasionally, for about 1 hour, or until the internal temperature of the sausages is close to the same temperature as the water, about 150 degrees F. To keep warm, let the sausages sit in the 150 to 160 degrees F water until serving time.
• Note: Morton Tender Quick Curing Salt is a curing agent composed of 99 percent salt, 1/2 percent sodium nitrate, and 1/2 percent sodium nitrite. If you use regular salt the sausages will be fine to eat but will be gray in color rather than the appealing pink color achieved with the curing agent.

CHICKEN WITH GINGER SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry chicken in 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes or until juices run clear. Remove chicken and set aside. In remaining oil, stir-fry broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, pea pod and onions for 8-10 minutes or until tender. Return chicken to skillet. Combine mayonnaise, broth, garlic, soy sauce and ginger; add to skillet. Reduce heat and cook until heated through. Serve over rice and sprinkle with almonds if desired.

SAUSAGE-STUFFED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place broccoli in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish; set aside. In a large skillet, brown sausage and onion until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Remove from the heat. Add cheese, crumbs, salt, pepper and egg; mix well. Flatten each chicken breast to 1/4-in. thickness. Place about 1/3 cup mixture down center of each chicken breast. Fold long ends over filling; fold ends up and secure with a toothpick. Place chicken, seam side down, on top of broccoli; spread soup over all. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 40-50 minutes. Remove toothpicks before serving.

TRUFFLE CHICKEN & POTATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Carefully pull the skin on the chicken legs away from the flesh, trying not to break the skin, then rub ¼ tbsp butter between the skin and flesh on each leg. Carefully put half of the truffle discs on top of the butter, or smear on some truffle paste and smooth back the skin. Season the skin, then set aside in the fridge.
• Heat the double cream and stock together with the garlic cloves, remaining truffle, bay and sage then, once simmering, set aside to infuse for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and butter the inside of a shallow baking dish that will fit both chicken legs. Layer the potatoes, adding the truffle slices from the cream between the layers along with some seasoning, then strain over the infused cream and stock mixture. Sprinkle over the parseman and scatter over the remaining sage leaves. Place the chicken legs on top, brush with melted butter, then roast for 1 hr or until the potatoes are cooked and the chicken golden and cooked through. Allow to rest for 10 mins, letting the chicken juices drip into the potatoes, then serve with a watercress salad.

TRUFFLED STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST

Steps:

• Lay the chicken breasts flat and make a slit using a very sharp knife, but do not go all the way through. This will make a nice pocket for the stuffing. Pound the breasts evenly using a meat mallet or small saute pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
• Place bread in a bowl and pour milk over; let soak for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, then shallots. Saute shallots until softened, but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cool slightly.
• Squeeze excess milk out of the bread and place in a large mixing bowl. Add mushroom-shallot mixture. Add Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, truffle oil, and egg. Mix well.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Stuff each breast with 2 to 3 tablespoons of stuffing; do not overstuff. Pierce the chicken with toothpicks to seal the stuffing in. Season each breast with salt and pepper.
• Heat remaining olive oil in the same skillet as used for mushrooms over medium heat. Brown chicken for 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink and juices run clear, about 18 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Slice chicken and serve.