Chicken Ballotine
At the Hartstone Inn in Camden, Maine, executive chef Dustin Shockley makes his own version of the classic French presentation using transglutaminase RM, sometimes called “meat glue” to ensure evenness. He bones a whole chicken, leaving it completely intact otherwise. He slices it in half lengthwise and removes the leg and thigh, as well as the breast tender, chops it all and combines it with eggs, salt, and mirepoix (carrot, onion, and celery) in a blender to turn it into a farce. He finishes it with a little foie gras fat.
He lays the rest of the boned chicken skin-side-down on plastic film sprinkled with a little transglutaminase RM and seasons it with kosher salt and another sprinkling of transglutaminase RM. He pipes the farce evenly onto the chicken and rolls each half tightly in its own sheet of plastic, sealing it with a little more transglutaminase RM.
He uses leftover farce to fill ravioli, make meatballs, or in other applications.
He cooks the chicken in sous vide at 65° Celsius for 90 minutes, pats it dry, sprinkles it with salt, crisps up the skin in a pan and finishes it in the oven. He lets it rest for five minutes before portioning and serving it. He garnishes the plate with micro-herbs from Morning Dew Farm in Waldoboro, Maine, and pearl onions that have been blanched and then glazed in chicken jus reduction.
Price: $28