Chicken Poussin

Chicken Poussin

This is an excellent Sunday Roast.  With four of us in the family, I cooked one each of these small succulent Chicken Poussin spatchcock style cooked with aromatic spices

Preheat the oven to 180C whilst you are preparing the poussins.

To Spatchcock place the Poussin breast size down.

Either using a sturdy scissors or I prefer a sharp knife, cut up along each side of the parson's nose and backbone to remove it, cutting through the rib bones as you go.  If using a knife make sure you are not cutting towards you.

Open the chicken out and turn over. Flatten the breastbone with the heel of your hand so that the meat is all one thickness as demonstrated in the picture below.

Roast the cumin, coriander, peppercorns, a small stick of cinnamon (or 1/2 tsp of dried cinnamon)

black poppy seeds in a small frying pan until you smell the aromatic aroma of the spices.  Be careful not to overcook the spices otherwise they will burn and they will lose the pungent smell you are trying to achieve.

Grind the spices and then mix in the olive oil and garlic.  Rub the mixture onto the skin of each poussin.  Place the poussins in a try with the preserved lemons underneath and cook for about 40 to 60 minutes on 180C.

Once they are cooked allow to rest for about 10 minutes and then place on a wooden board and serve with a green or couscous salad.

Ingredients

4 x 500g Poussin 

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp peppercorns

1 small stick of cinnamon (or 1/2 tsp of dried cinnamon)

6 cloves garlic crushed

1 tsp black poppy seeds

1/4 x2 quarters of preserved lemons

2 tsp ginger

2 tbs olive oil

Scotch Egg with Hint of Spice

Scotch Egg with Cumin, Coriander and 

Edwards of Conwy Sausage Meat

Scotch Egg with Edwards of Conwy Sausage Meat

Recently my children have taken a liking to Scotch Eggs bought in our local Supermarket.  Not that this is a bad thing as Scotch Eggs are very taste but as anything massed produced they can be full of preservatives etc.  I decided to make my own and they were much easier to make and according to my children much tastier.

Edwards of Conwy Sausages

For these scotch eggs I have used sausage meat from a local company Edwards of Conwy.  I have known the owner, Ieuan Edwards, for a few years and I know he only uses the best quality cuts for his sausages.

Ingredients makes 4 Scotch Eggs

For the Sausage Mixture
6 sausages (400g skin removed)
parsley about 10g chopped finely
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds

I have added cumin and coriander to add a little bit of spice to my scotch eggs.  I roasted the seeds then ground them to a powder.

Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and use your hands to mix the ingredients together well

Sausage Meat mix

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and place 4 Free Range eggs into the boiling water. Remove after 5 minutes and place in a bowl of cold water.  After they have cooled the egg shells should easily peel off.  Once you have done this place to one side.

You will now need to prepare the coating to the scotch eggs.

I used 6 slices of bread, lightly toasted and then blitzed in a food mixer to prepare the breadcrumbs. Once done place in a bowl.

In a second bowl place three table spoons of flour in a bowl and add a teaspoon of salt and pepper and mix together.

Finally in a third bowl I cracked two eggs and then mix well.

Now you are ready to make the scotch eggs.  Separate the sausage mix into 4 equal parts then place the first lot of sausage meat in one hand and flatten out to make a patty.  With your other hand dip the egg into the flour and roll about until all the surface area is covered in flour.  Then place the egg into the centre of your patty.  Fold the sausage meat around the egg.

Now dip the scotch egg into the egg mixture and roll around to ensure the whole surface is coated.  Then dip into the bread crumbs.  Repeat the egg and bread crumbs process until you have a good covering for your scotch egg.

Scotch Eggs coated with breadcrumbs

Repeat the process for the remaining three eggs.

I deep fried my scotch eggs at a temperature of 180C for 4 minutes and served them with some home made chips, scummy was my daughter's comment.

Scotch Eggs ready to be eaten with some home made chips