Roast Chicken with Bacon and Macadamia Stuffing

The stuffing in this bird has so many of my favourite flavours. It’s so good, that I always make extra to ensure I have leftovers the next day to crisp up in a pan, alongside a golden fried egg. Yum.

What you’ll need …

50 gm unsalted butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

6 rashers streaky bacon, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary

Finely grated zest of ½ lemon

150 gm sourdough bread, crusts removed and torn

60 gm macadamia nuts

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 free range chicken (about 1.5kg)

What to do …

Preheat oven to 180°C Fan.

For stuffing, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook onion and bacon for 10 minutes until soft. Add garlic, rosemary and lemon zest and cook, stirring for one minute until fragrant, set aside. In a food processor, process bread to coarse crumbs then add to onion mixture along with macadamias, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine; set aside to cool completely.

Rinse chicken inside and out, pat dry, spoon stuffing mixture into cavity. Tie legs with kitchen string, tuck wings under and place chicken in roasting tin. Rub 1 tablespoon of oil over chicken and season to taste. Roast for 1 hour 45 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 65°C. Remove from oven, cover with foil and rest for 15 minutes before serving.

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