Cranberry Stuffed Chicken Roll
This is a stunning, budget friendly chicken roll. We serve this at Christmas time. It is so easy to make and much cheaper than the store bought versions. I also have another version of this chicken roll which I will be showing in an up and coming video.
How this Recipe Came About
I absolutely love turkey!! Unfortunately it isn’t sold over here in New Zealand as a staple meat. The only time I ever see it is in the frozen section of the supermarket every Christmas season. I would happily eat turkey every week if it was available.
We do have some turkey readily available at the Christmas time rush. These include whole turkey and a turkey roll with stuffing in the middle. We have a huge family and when my kids were younger buying one turkey roll was never enough. So I decide to replicate it with cheaper chicken breast. It sooner became a family favorite that we would have every year.
The original chicken roll had the chicken skin on and it was not minced up. This was something I did a couple of years ago. Mincing the chicken saves loads of time. However, you must be careful while cooking it. If overcooked, it can become drier.
It is a great recipe. I should prepare it more often, not just at this time of the year. The recipe card has basic instructions on how to roll up the chicken roll. I highly recommend you watch it to make it easier.
In a new video I will be filming shortly, I will show you the original version as well.
I highly recommend you get yourself a meat thermometer. This will help to control the temperature of the meat. You only need the stuffing in the middle to reach 74c. This is the safe limit for chicken.
Other Links and Tips
Here are the two videos corresponding with this recipe. You will find a full three course Christmas meal for a family. I filmed this two years ago and it cost me $120 at the time.
3-course Christmas menu for under $120 (Part ONE)
Part 2 of Christmas feast/ Summer Christmas food in New Zealand
Some of the sides I serve with this and are also in the same video can be found below
Easy Smashed Potatoes with Garlic and Herb Butter
The Best Green Beans with Crispy Bacon
Simple Roasted Sweet Potato, Spinach and Feta Salad
Cranberry Stuffed Chicken Roll
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 3 large chicken breasts skinless and boneless
- 12 rashers streaky bacon
- 1/2 brown onion finely diced
- 1/2 tsp garlic minced
- dried parsley to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
For the stuffing
- 10 slices fresh bread
- 1/2 brown onion finely diced
- 70 g walnut halves or pistachios roughly chopped
- 150 g dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup water
- dried mixed herbs to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a food processor place the bread and blitz until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the onion, cranberries, walnuts, mixed herbs, salt, pepper. Blitz a few times until combined but still a little chunky. Add the water, you may need to add extra water depending on your bread. Add enough water until the stuffing comes together and holds its shape once squeezed.
- Place stuffing mixture into a bowl and set aside to prepare the chicken roll.
- Trim chicken and add to food processor. Add onion, garlic, dried parsley, salt and pepper and blitz until it resembles chicken mince.
- To form the chicken roll, add two lines of gladwrap to the bench.
- Line the gladwrap with 12 rashers of bacon, slightly overlapping as you form a long line.
- Place the chicken mince over the bacon forming an even layer.
- Place the stuffing mixture in the centre of the chicken roll in a log shape.
- Using the excess gladwrap, roll up the chicken mince over the stuffing forming a tight roll in the process. Watch the video that goes with this recipe on step by step rolling instructions.
- Place chicken roll onto a tray and place into the refrigerator for a couple of hours to firm up.
- After a few hours, remove gladwrap and place chicken roll onto a lined baking tray.
- Bake at 180℃ for 30 minutes or until internal temperature is above 74℃.
- Once cooked, let it cool completely before wrapping in gladwrap and placing back in the refrigerator. Once cold, it is ready to slice.
