Chicken Ballotine Stuffed with Sausage | Jacques Pepin

For our G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) episode, of course we had to have the greatest living chef on the planet as a guest—Jacques Pepin! And he chose this de-boned and stuffed whole chicken as his G.O.A.T. recipe. Why? "It's a good recipe for teaching people technique," he says. It also couldn't be more delicious (or economical) and isn't as difficult as it may seem. The hardest part is removing the bones from the chicken, which is totally doable. (You can also ask a butcher to do it.) Jacques likes to serve the ballotine with mashed potatoes and braised endive or sauteed string beans. 

"A ballotine is a whole chicken that has been de-boned and stuffed. Elegant enough for company, it can be prepared up to a day ahead. (Freeze the bones and the neck, gizzard and heart for later use in soup or stock). This bird is best cooked in a sturdy, preferably aluminum roasting pan, to ensure a good condensation of the cooking juices, which will be used to create the sauce. Here, I stuff the ballotine with sausage meat, bread and seasonings, but the filling can be changed to include any combination of ingredients you happen to have on hand. The ballotine is served with a sauce made of chicken drippings and thickened brown stock." —Jacques 

For more recipes from our G.O.A.T. episode, check out Rach's Italian Sausages with Sweet and Sour Peppers and Onions (Agrodolce) and John's Roman Holiday Cocktail.