Ashanti Chicken- Whole Stuffed Deboned Roast Chicken- stuffed with Jollof rice paired with gravy from drippings
Want something, fun, New, Exciting on your thanksgiving or Christmas table?
Try this African ballotine (chicken boned, stuffed and rolled into a bundle)- I promise – pinky promise. You won’t regret it.
Do you know what it is stuffed with? Rice. But not just any rice – Jollof rice.
This rice is so widely enjoyed through out West Africa and is quickly catching on in the Western World – bearing striking resemblance to Mexican rice but with different flavors.
You have got to make this- your family would think you are Genius and you would impress the heck out of them!
Maybe even some OH’s and AH’s.
However, you have to step out of your comfort zone to do this one –maybe just this once, Christmas or thanksgiving only comes once a year right?
This recipe was inspired by Ashanti Chicken – A chicken of Ghanaian Origin, which according to Congo book is on the instinct list- after trying it out, I can see why people are not making it as much. It is stuffed with yams and poached – just not quite appealing, to me at least. For the sake of brevity you can head over to Congo book or Betumi blog to read more
Want some twist on this scrumptious chicken- I used a spice blend to serve as seasoning for the chicken. For the stuffing, you can use this Jollof rice here or this SUPER DUPER easy, My Go To, Jollof Rice here – both taste great. However, the baked version is easier and hassle free, leaving you time and hands free to focus on the chicken.
The hardest part, for me, was deboning the chicken- which is quite daunting BUT doable. After watching couple YouTube videos on how to debone a chicken I felt I could face this task What could be so difficult about it – after all I am not a chicken- pun intended . After some deep breaths I got it down to under an hour, tried again – about 30minutes- then again 20 minutes. I just wanted to keep deboning chicken- they say practice makes perfect and that’s SO true.
You can do it for less- the wings are the hardest part to me. At the end I realized it is not worth it, I cut of the wings and used for stock. Stuffing the chicken is – the fun part. Be very careful not to over –stuff it – you should be able to easily close the chicken with the flaps over lapping- then do the tying.
This is a great make ahead dish – do it the day before and roast the day of. If you have a roasting pan that is great ! if not, place on top of a cookie sheet and place a pan underneath to collect the dripping. It is Ghetto Fabulous but who cares! It does the job.
This chicken broth and the drippings can be whisked into delicious, rich and flavorful gravy fairly quickly . Words can’t describe how to debone a chicken so I am going to include these you tube videos on how to debone and roll a chicken. Do make the gravy using this chicken stock here cause it tastes great!
Enjoy!
Ashanti Chicken( Whole Deboned Chicken With rice)
Ingredients
Spice rub
- 1- tablespoon thyme
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ tablespoon onion powder
- 1 ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1- teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1- teaspoon bouillon powder you may replace with salt
Jollof rice
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 14- ounce Can tomatoes sauce
- ½ cup cooking oil
- 3 cups rice I used Basmati
- 2- teaspoon Chicken bouillon
- 2- teaspoon salt
- 1- tablespoon paprika
- 1- tablespoon garlic powder
- 3 1/2 cups chicken broth or water
- 1- teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme optional
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper or ¾ teaspoon hot pepper omit if cooking for kids
- 1- pound vegetables
Gravy with chicken drippings
- 1/4 cup drippings from roast chicken
- 2 -3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 or more cups chicken stock
- Chicken bouillon powder to taste optional
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Jollof rice
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse rice through water. In a half sheet baking pan
- In a half sheet pan (12-13/16" l. x 10-7/16" w. x 2-1/2”) combine all ingredients and stir so that everything is fully combined
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil paper.
- Gently place in oven and let it cook for about an hour.
- Remove carefully from oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Then carefully remove aluminum paper. Fluff rice with a fork and mix evenly. Serve warm
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAekQ5fzfGM
Stuff chicken and tie
- Starting with chicken remove all bones, dry it out using paper towels reserve all the bones – use to make chicken stock here.
- Then generously season chicken with spice.
- Stuff Chicken with rice – go easy with the rice
- You can either sew chicken or tie it up
- Start at one end. Make sure to tuck any loose ends of chicken under the chicken. Position your first knot to keep these loose ends tucked. Tie the knots on the underside of the chicken. It works a lot easier. Try to keep the knots at roughly an inch or so apart.
- After you have tied the knot, stretch the string down the chicken and hold it in place with your thumb. Loop the string around the chicken. Lift the piece you’re holding under your thumb, and tie another knot- until the under side of the chicken look like a chain of knots. Generously season the outside of the chicken with seasoning.
- When ready to roast preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Place chicken in roast pan and roast for about 50 minutes, then uncover and cook an additional 15 to 30 minutes. Remove and let it rest before serving.
Chicken gravy with drippings
- Heat a saucepan or skillet with drippings over a medium-high heat. Gently whisk in the flour to make a “roux.” Stir the roux for a minute or two to remove any raw taste of the flour until you get a nutty smell. Gradually add about a ¼ or more of liquid and continue whisking until mixture is thick and somewhat smooth.
- Then add the remaining liquid and adjust thickness to personal preference – season with bouillon, salt and pepper. Remember gravy thickens as it cools down.
Nutrition Information:
Starting with chicken remove all bones, dry it out using paper towels reserve all the bones – use to make chicken stock here.
Starting with chicken remove all bones, dry it out using paper towels reserve all the bones – use to make chicken stock here.
Becareful when deboning the chicken make chicken stays in tact- Season chicken with salt.
Add oil to the spice mixture and generously brush spice mixture in the inner cavities of chicken.
Stuff Chicken with Jollof rice – go easy with the rice. Make sure you fully stuff the legs
You can either sew chicken or just place wrap the chicken up. I used two turkey needle to keep it in place . I have tried without it and it works out Ok.
Time to tie the chicken so it stays in tact .Start at one end. Make sure to tuck any loose ends of chicken under the chicken. Position your first knot to keep these loose ends tucked. Tie the knots on the underside of the chicken. It works a lot easier. Try to keep the knots at roughly an inch or so apart.
After you have tied the knot, stretch the string down the chicken and hold it in place with your thumb. Loop the string around the chicken. Lift the piece you’re holding under your thumb, and tie another knot- until the under side of the chicken look like a chain of knots. Make sure you watch the video . Makes it a lot easier to understand
Generously season the outside of the chicken with spice mixture
When ready to roast preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Place chicken in roast pan and roast for about 50 minutes, then uncover and cook an additional 15 to 30 minutes. Remove and let it rest before serving.
Neal M says
This is without question the best stuffed fowl I have ever made. I scaled down for a smaller group and served on a bed of wilted mixed greens (collards, kale, spinach). The spice blend and Jollof Rice were simply spectacular.
imma africanbites says
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate it. And you just made me want to do this for tomorrow.
Eileen Lundin says
I add a second boneless chicken Breast
This gives a even Distribution of meat
I leave the the wings It looks better
I add rice stuffing Will try your your version
I also add 3-4 boneless chicken thighs
On top of rice before I tie up
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for leaving a comment! Hope it turned out great for you! 🙂
Sue says
Is it sAfe to tie up stuffed chicken with cooked Rice the nite before cooking. Could I just place the seasoned deboned chicken over the rice inthe pan when ready to roast( no tying)
ImmaculateBites says
Yes it is safe. However, placing the deboned chicken over the rice would make the rice too mushy. You might want to cook the chicken and rice together . Check out this recipe https://www.africanbites.com/chicken-jollof-rice/.
Dianne Norrad says
This recipe looks fantastic.What weight of chicken should I use for the Ashanti Chicken?
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks Dianne,
It should between 3 1/2 – 4 pounds of chicken.
Iesha King says
Hi Gorgeous! I finally made this amazing dish for Christmas dinner and it was so good! I could not find basmati rice so I used my Asian sticky rice and mixed with vegetables. I was so scared to debome the chicken but once I put my gloves on and my knife started slicing it was go time from there. My only issue was making sure I didn’t cut into the actual meat of the chicken and strictly the bone. My hubby was so proud and pretty much ate the whole thing.
ImmaculateBites says
Virtual High five!! So happy to hear it worked out well for you. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us .
Marina says
Imma maybe you can teach how to debone the chicken ? I agree it looks amazing !!!
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks! Check out the you tubevideo above. That’s how I learned how to do it. Not too complicated . You are going to love it.
vernella says
I love the fact that your photo guide us step by step. Will try tis one.
ImmaculateBites says
Yay! Do let me know how it works out for you.
Rosa says
Imma, you are so creative with food. This is amazing gurl. Me love it
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks Rosa!
Nagi@RecipeTin Eats says
Holy moly. My jaw literally dropped when I saw this. This is like the BEST STUFFED CHICKEN EVER! I am really fussy about my stuffing, I don’t like the traditional stuff. But this….this is gold. Imma, I am constantly blown away by the recipes you share, you are a legend!!
ImmaculateBites says
Nagi, you are too generous. That gingerbread of yours is LEGEND!
Me not like traditional stuffing too!
Charlene @ That Girl Cooks Healthy says
I’ve been meaning to try jollof rice so this couldn’t be more perfect timing. Lovely pictures as always and thanks for providing the links throughout the text. I can’t wait to check them out.
ImmaculateBites says
Let me know how you like this one Charlene
Jehancancook says
I’ve deboned a turkey before and it isn’t fun! This looks awesome and I’m sure it tAstes amazing!!
ImmaculateBites says
True, it isn’t fun, but it worth it! Thanks