Sharpen Your Skills: Cajun Rice and Andouille Stuffed Chicken

My husband and I cook chicken once a week for dinner, but it’s easy to get burned out by the same old recipes and trying to find new ways to make it exciting. And we are both chefs! The struggle is real for all of us.

Over the weekend, we had some chicken leg-thigh quarters (where the leg and thigh are still attached) that needed to get used up. Our Grilled Greek Chicken is delicious, but we didn’t feel like firing up our charcoal grill. After much brainstorming (it does help when two culinary-minded people are on task), we decided on a very technique-driven recipe: Deboned and stuffed chicken leg-thigh quarters. This is definitely a weekend project because it takes a bit of time to debone the chicken, but it’s a very rewarding experience with an impressive end result.

You can stuff a chicken with almost anything, but we had a bottle of Cajun spice blend our daughter brought back from New Orleans we wanted to make use of, so we opted for a Cajun rice and andouille sausage stuffing.

To make the filling, steam your long-grain rice (I used jasmine) and once it’s cooked, rested and fluffed, gently mix it with sautéed holy trinity. Holy trinity is the Cajun-Creole version of mire poix, and it includes onions, celery and green peppers. It’s the base for all Cajun-Creole recipes such as gumbo, jambalaya and etouffee to name a few.

I then mixed in finely chopped andouille sausage (a smoky, spicy pork sausage), scallions and a generous sprinkle of Joe’s Stuff Bayou Blend seasoning. Salt is the first ingredient, so I did not need to add any additional salt. In order to help the stuffing hold together, I added one beaten egg.

Now onto the chicken. This next part isn’t difficult, but it does take practice and a sharp boning knife. If you don’t have a boning knife, you can use a chef’s knife, but it’s a just a bit trickier with a bigger blade.

• Let’s start with the thigh bone. With the chicken skin side down, use your sharp boning knife to cut the meat on either side of the thigh bone, without cutting through the skin.

• Slide your knife under the thigh bone and detach the part of the bone furthest from the drumstick first.

• Use your boning knife to then remove the thigh bone at the joint where it meets the leg bone.

• To remove the leg bone, use your sharp boning knife and cut the meat on either side of the leg bone (the same way you did with the thigh bone), without cutting through the skin.

• Slide your knife under the leg bone, keeping the “ankle” intact. Using the back of your knife, scrape any excess meat from the leg bone.

• Hold the leg bone up vertically, and use the back of your boning knife to hit and crack the bone close to the ankle. This will allow you to remove the leg bone while keeping the ankle intact for presentation purposes.

You have now successfully deboned a chicken leg-thigh quarter! Save the bones to make a small pot of stock, or freeze them and make a bigger pot of stock when you have more bones.

To stuff the chicken, fill the hollowed-out leg area first and really pack it in to “re-shape” the drumstick. Then place a scoop (approximately 1/4 to 1/3 cup) of the rice filling on top of the thigh meat. Using your hands, encase the stuffing by pulling the meat and skin over the stuffing. It’s okay if a bit of the stuffing is not covered.

Place on a parchment or foil-lined sheet tray, skin-side up, brush with oil and season with your Cajun spice blend.

Roast the stuffed leg-thigh quarters until the rice stuffing and chicken meat read at least 165° on a meat thermometer. Testing the temperature of the stuffing is very important to ensure there are no undercooked chicken juices present.

Allow your chicken to rest for 10 minutes before serving. To keep our Southern theme, we served our Cajun stuffed chicken with succotash and garlic mashed potatoes with gravy. This was definitely a labor of love, but was also a lot of fun to sharpen my skills because I haven’t deboned chicken in a while. It’s an impressive recipe (our son even said how awesome it was) and I highly recommend you try it.

This recipe would be a really fun twist on Thanksgiving turkey. Try stuffing your chicken leg-thigh quarters with a bread and sausage stuffing for a taste of the traditional but in a new light!

Cajun Rice and Andouille Sausage Stuffed Chicken

Yield: 4 servings

Active time: 1 hour

Start to finish: 1 hour, 50 minutes

For the filling:

1/2 cup long-grain rice

3/4 cup water

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons neutral oil

1/2 onion, medium dice

1 stalk celery, small dice

1/2 green pepper, small dice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 pound andouille sausage, finely chopped

2 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias

Cajun spice blend to taste (see note, below)

1 egg, well beaten

For the chicken:

4 chicken leg-thigh quarters

Cajun spice blend to taste

2 tablespoons neutral oil

1. To prepare the filling for the chicken, cook the rice. In a saucepan, measure together the rice, water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid.
2. Remove the pan from the heat, and allow to sit for an additional five minutes with the lid on.
3. Using a fork, fluff the rice and transfer to a bowl. Set aside.
4. While the rice is cooking, prepare the holy trinity. Heat a sauté pan over medium heat, and add the oil. Gently sauté the onions, celery and green peppers until lightly caramelized and tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the garlic and cook an additional minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Transfer the sautéed vegetables to the bowl with the rice, and add the andouille, scallions and Cajun spice blend. Adjust the seasoning as necessary.
7. Stir in the beaten egg and set the stuffing aside.
8. Preheat the oven to 375°.
9. To debone the leg-thigh quarters, use a sharp boning knife to cut the meat on either side of the thigh bone, without cutting through the skin.
10. Slide your knife under the thigh bone and detach the part of the bone furthest from the leg first.
11. Use your boning knife to then remove the thigh bone at the joint where it meets the leg bone.
12. To remove the leg bone, use a sharp boning knife and cut the meat on either side of the leg bone, without cutting through the skin.
13. Slide your knife under the leg bone, keeping the “ankle” in tact. Using the back of your knife, scrape any excess meat from the leg bone.
14. Hold the leg bone up vertically, and use the back of your boning knife to crack the bone close to the ankle. This will allow you to remove the leg bone while keeping the ankle in tact for presentation purposes.
15. Place the deboned chicken leg-thigh quarters on a cutting board, skin side down. Season with Cajun spice blend.
16. To stuff the chicken, start by stuffing the rice mixture into the leg of the chicken.
17. Place a scoop (approximately 1/4 to 1/3 cup) of the rice filling on top of the thigh meat.
18. Using your hands, encase the stuffing by pulling the meat and skin over the stuffing. It’s ok if a bit of the stuffing is not covered.
19. Carefully transfer the stuffed chicken to a parchment or foil-lined sheet tray, skin side up. Brush the skin with the oil and season with the Cajun spice blend.
20. Roast until the meat and stuffing read 165° on a meat thermometer, about 40 minutes.
21. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving with your favorite sides.

Note:

If your Cajun spice blend has salt in it, you will not need any additional salt. If not, plan on adding salt to taste.

To learn how to butcher a whole chicken and use the parts for delicious recipes, don’t miss our Chicken Butchery and Cookery class on Wednesday, November 12 at 6pm.

If you have an interest in butchering other proteins to learn a new technique and/or save money at the store, join us for the following classes to sharpen your skills:

• Fish Butchery and Cookery: Wednesday, October 15 at 6pm
• Beef Tenderloin Butchery and Cookery: Monday, October 20 at 6pm