Chicken Ballontine question?

lucylu

When you wrap the chicken in Clingfilm into a shape of a sausage, why would you cook them in Stock and not water?

For example see the recipe below
Chicken Ballontine with Ricotta and Spinach.

2 chicken breasts, de-boned and skin removed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
110g/4oz fresh spinach, stems removed
1 tsp vegetable oil
20g/¾ oz chicken leg meat, finely chopped
75g/3oz ricotta cheese
pinch grated nutmeg
825ml/1½ pint hot chicken stock

1.Place each chicken breast between two sheets of cling film. Flatten by bashing with a rolling pin or meat mallet until about 2cm/0.8in thick. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2.Rinse the spinach and dry thoroughly. Cook the spinach in a large pan of boiling salted water for a few minutes. Drain through a sieve and, using a spoon, squeeze out excess water until dry.
3.Heat the vegetable oil in a small frying pan and add the chicken leg meat. Fry the chicken until browned all over.
4.Place the browned chicken leg meat, spinach, ricotta and nutmeg in a mixing bowl and season. Set the frying pan used to fry the chicken aside.
5.Blend the mixture with a hand blender until the texture is smooth.
6.Place a couple of teaspoons of the mixture in the centre of each seasoned chicken breast, fold the flattened ends into a cylindrical shape and then roll into a sausage with the cling film. Make sure the chicken is rolled with plenty of spare cling film to spare at each end - this will help when knotting the ends. It should be as tight as possible. Secure the ends by knotting the film and tying the two ends together so a lifting handle is created.
8.Place the wrapped chicken breasts in a pan with the hot stock and simmer for about 40 minutes. When cooked, carefully lift out with a spoon, using the cling film handles

Morag

To add more flavour were as water will take flavour away stock will add.

the beer revolu

Sharrow wrote: »

To add more flavour were as water will take flavour away stock will add.

But the chicken is in a sealed plastic 'sausage' of cling film:rolleyes:

OP, I've seen this before and it makes no sense to me either.

To be honest, the idea of cooking anything in cling film doesn't appeal to me at all - cling film has a taste.

lucylu

I would have thought that the clingfilm would seal in the chicken making it watertight. Am I wrong? Does the Clingfilm unravel/unstick when its in boiling water?

olaola

the beer revolu wrote: »

To be honest, the idea of cooking anything in cling film doesn't appeal to me at all - cling film has a taste.

Yeah, I think so too. UGH, I don't even want to mention what it reminds me of!

Morag

Cling flim is not waterproof or a vacum pack seal, some water/stock is going to get in.

Kimia

Yes, it's afaik to absorb some of the flavour of the stock. Usually ballontines are then pan fried quickly in a butter/oil mixture (lots of butter!) to brown them after they are cooked to give them that nice extra flavour! I'm surprised the recipe doesn't suggest this - definitely do it, there is no way you should just unwrap the clingfilm, that would be awful.

Curry Addict

definitely pan fry in butter after

stock or water, ive used this cooking method a few times and stock wont add and water wont take away imho.

eternal

In professional kitchens we use water.Kill the chef