I'm always thinking of new things to do with these whole chickens. And in this case, after doing a French cut breast and roasting it, I had the legs, thighs and wings left over. So I decided to make bratwurst.
Bratwurst is an emulsified sausage that has German origins. It is usually made from pork and/or veal and seasoned with white pepper, ginger and nutmeg. It is fattened up with eggs and heavy cream. So I made a pretty classic Brat subbing chicken for the pork/veal.
And because I was feeling a little lazy and didn't want to get my sausage stuffer out and also because I had a lot of extra chicken skin, I chose to wrap the sausage in the skin.
I laid the skin out on plastic wrap and spooned the sausage in the middle of the skin across it's length. Then I rolled it up like you would roll sushi. I tied off the ends and wrapped it again, this time with foil so it would hold it's shape really well.
After it was chilled in the refrigerator for an hour I poached it in a water bath for 20 minutes at 160 degrees and then shocked it in ice water for 5 minutes. This fuses the skin with the meat so that when you recook it, it doesn't fall apart. To finish, I dusted the sausage with Wondra flour and pan fried it until the skin was a crisp golden brown.
It is served on some heirloom French beans that were cooked in chicken stock, cider vinegar and caraway. A chive mustard sauce adds some color and a punch of flavor.
*- I usually buy pasture raised organic chickens from Mountain View Poultry farm which has a stand every Sunday at the Headhouse Farmer's Market. These chickens are free to roam the land eating bugs, grass and grain and it really shows in the final product. The meat and the eggs have a much richer and vibrant flavor than conventionally raised "cheap" chicken.