How to Make Chicken Relleno

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Chicken relleno is always present on the holiday table. This tasty Noche Buena mainstay is made up of prized ingredients: ham, chorizo, queso de bola, and olives. You might think twice about making this dish since deboning a whole chicken is quite a daunting task-but there's no need to do it yourself! Have it expertly done by your chicken vendor at the wet market. All you have to do is marinate, stuff, and roast!

 

Serves 8 to 10
Prep Time 40 minutes, plus marinating time
Cooking Time 1 hour 30 minutes

 


(1.2-kilo) whole chicken, deboned (bones and meat set aside for another use)
(80-ml) pack barbecue marinade (we used Mama Sita's)
2 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
mushroom gravy and buttered vegetables, to serve (optional)


For the stuffing
500 grams ground pork
250 grams sweet or Christmas ham, chopped finely
200 grams chorizo de Bilbao, chopped finely
1/2 cup raisins, chopped finely
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 (200-gram) bar cheddar cheese, grated, or 1 cup grated queso de bola
1/4 cup pickle relish
12 pitted green olives, chopped
2 medium eggs, beaten
salt, pepper, and sugar, to taste
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

 

1 Marinate deboned whole chicken in barbecue marinade for at least 6 hours, covered, in the fridge.

 

 

 

2 Make the stuffing: Mix together ground pork, ham, chorizo, raisins, breadcrumbs, cheese, pickle relish, and olives in a large bowl. Add eggs and mix well. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar.

 

3 Heat oil in a small frying pan. Fry a teaspoonful of the stuffing to taste. Adjust seasoning, if necessary.

4 Preheat oven to 350°F.

 

5 Drain chicken from marinade then fill cavity with stuffing. You can sew the opening and truss the chicken legs with kitchen twine, if desired. Baste chicken with half of the melted butter.

 

 

6 Wrap chicken in aluminum foil and place on a baking rack set on top of a baking pan.
 

7 Roast chicken in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove foil and baste chicken with remaining melted butter. Continue to cook chicken in the oven for 15 minutes or until skin is golden brown. Reserve the drippings. Let chicken rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Remove kitchen twine.
 

8 Arrange chicken relleno slices on a platter. Drizzle chicken with drippings. Serve with gravy and buttered vegetables, if desired.

CLICK HERE for more RELLENO RECIPES.

Photography by Dairy Darilag | Styling by Rachelle Santos