CookEat Recipe
Pastry-Wrapped Chicken with Prosciutto
A whole young chicken brushed with butter, wrapped in prosciutto and thin folded pastry, then baked until the crust is golden.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 1 professionally dressed young chicken, about 1 kg, without head, neck, feet or internal organs; 70 g butter: 20 g for the chicken and 50 g for the pastry; 2 broad thin slices mostly lean prosciutto, about 60 g total; 150 g plain flour; 1 teaspoon plain unflavoured vodka, as a practical food-grade spirit; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; 1 egg yolk for the pastry; 1 additional egg yolk for glazing; About 2–4 tablespoons warm water, only as needed for the dough; Salt.
Step 2
Mix the flour with the 50 g pastry butter, vodka, sugar, lemon juice, one yolk and a small pinch of salt. Add warm water sparingly to make a soft but workable dough. Knead vigorously for about 8–10 minutes, cover and rest for 20 minutes. Roll, fold in half and roll again four or five times, finishing about 2–3 mm thick and broad enough to cover the chicken. Keep the dough cool.
Step 3
Heat the oven to 180°C. Keep the prepared chicken cold until assembly and do not rinse it. Rub the outside with the separate 20 g cold butter and season lightly with salt, including a small pinch inside the empty cavity. Fold the wings against the body. Wrap the two broad thin prosciutto slices around the bird.
Step 4
Enclose the chicken in the pastry, fitting it around the shape and sealing the joins with a little water. Put seam-side down on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Make a small steam opening near the top and brush with the additional egg yolk. The chicken remains whole inside the pastry; no other filling is added.
Step 5
Bake without interruption for about 1½–2 hours, loosely covering the crust with foil if it colours before the chicken is cooked. Check through the small opening and at suitable inconspicuous points that the thickest breast and thigh reach at least 82°C away from bone and the pastry next to the bird is cooked rather than doughy. Continue baking if necessary. Rest for about 10–15 minutes, then bring the wrapped bird to the table to open the crust and carve it, taking care with steam and bones.
Step 6
For the cold serving preferred in the source, open the pastry and carve the cooked bird after its brief rest, then place the meat and pastry in separate shallow containers and refrigerate within two hours. Chill thoroughly and use within 2–3 days. Serve the cold portions with their pastry; do not leave a warm whole bird sealed in its crust to cool slowly. Allow at least three extra hours for chilling beyond the listed hot-service duration.
Cooked it? Rate it.
Cooked 0 times