Roasted Hamilton Poussin Wrapped with Streaky Bacon

4 servings


Ingredients:

4 poussin chickens
12 rashers dry-curled streaky bacon
450g potatoes, peeled
Handful fresh sage, thyme or rosemary
12 cloves garlic, peeled
½ cup white wine
1 cup white wine, extra
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil


Method:

1. Preheat your oven and an appropriately sized roasting tray to 220°C. Boil your potatoes in salted water until perfectly cooked (don’t overcook). Drain and allow to cool.
2. Remove any fat from inside the chicken cavity. Wash and pat dry with kitchen paper. Slice your potatoes thickly, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, add your freshly torn herbs and enough olive oil just to coat. Toss over and then stuff your chickens with the potatoes. Place them into the tray with about 12 cloves of garlic and cook for 30 minutes. After this time, skin of the chicken should be crisp and golden.
3. At this point lay your streaky bacon snugly over the breast meat and add a ½ cup of wine to the pan to get some sticky marmitey juices happening. Cook for another 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven. Take them out of the tray and allow them to rest for 5 minutes while you make a quick bit of gravy.
4. Remove as much fat as possible from the tray before placing on gentle heat. Splash the remaining 1 cup of white wine into it. Then boil up and scrape away all the goodness from the sides of the tray. Simmer this for a couple of minutes until tasty. It’s not a thick, robust gravy, just a tasty gesture. Served with something nice and green like steamed spinach and the potatoes pulled out from the chickens.