Autumn Roasted Chicken With Stuffing
26
- Prep Time20 min
- Total Time1 h 15 min
- Makes3-4 Servings
Photo, Janis Nicolay.
A good roasted chicken isn’t just for Sundays. By splitting the chicken in half and laying it on top of a loose stuffing-like layer, you can have all the aromas and flavours of autumn in half the cooking time. What I like best about making this stuffing is that it’s not actually stuffed into anything. This allows the bread bits at the bottom of the roasting pan to toast up, adding a delectable caramelized crispy bite here and there when you eat this dish.
Ingredients
2 oz (60 g) pancetta or bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage or 2 tsp dried sage
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup dry white vermouth
3 cups diced day-old sourdough bread (some crusts included)
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Salt and black pepper
4 lb (1.8 kg) whole chicken
Olive oil, for basting
Paprika, for sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Heat a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta (or bacon) and cook until it begins to crisp up a little. Add the onions and celery and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onions look translucent. Add the sage, thyme and garlic and sauté 1 minute more. Pour in the vermouth and simmer until the liquid reduces by half.
Place the cubed bread in a bowl. Add the sautéed pancetta mixture and the parsley and toss well. Season to taste.
Spoon the stuffing into a roasting pan and divide it into two sections (a chicken half will sit on top of each portion of stuffing).
Use a sharp butcher’s knife or kitchen shears to split the chicken in half by cutting down either side of the backbone, with the backbone resting on your cutting board. The backbone can be saved for stock. Flip the chicken over to remove the keel bone and cartilage between the two breasts. Run your knife around either side of the keel bone at the base of the cartilage and then use your fingers or a smaller knife to run along the cartilage to loosen it. Use your finger to pop out both the keel bone and cartilage, which you can save or discard. Split the chicken in half between the two breasts and place one half on each portion of stuffing, skin-side up.
Lightly brush or drizzle the chicken with oil, sprinkle with paprika and season with salt and pepper.
Roast the chicken, uncovered, for about an hour, until an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) is reached when tested inside the thigh and centre of the breast. Serve the chicken on the bone, cutting into smaller pieces, if needed, with the stuffing on the side.
Kitchen tip
Leftover chicken and stuffing will keep, well wrapped, in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Excerpted from Anna Cooks by Anna Olson. Copyright © 2025 Anna Olson. Photographs by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Get more savoury new recipes from Anna Cooks.
Get more of our best roast recipes.
Anna Olson is a professionally trained chef and the internationally known host of Food Network Canada’s Bake with Anna Olson, as well as the Oh Yum with Anna Olson channel on YouTube. She is the author of 10 bestselling and award-winning cookbooks, including Anna Olson’s Baking Wisdom, Baking Day with Anna Olson and Set for the Holidays with Anna Olson. She lives in Ontario with her husband, Michael.
