Italian Stuffed Chicken (Iaddina china)

Italian Stuffed Chicken or iaddina china as we call it in Sicilian is without a doubt a labor of love! Chicken is filled with a savory meat, bread and cheese combination to create a flavorful and moist stuffed chicken. And leftovers are perfect for sandwiches for next day lunches!Throughout this journey of documenting my mother's recipes, I am frequently fascinated to hear about how the recipes have evolved over the years. 

My mother actually never saw iaddina china (which means stuffed hen in Sicilian) being made when she was a child. She simply interpreted it in her unique way. Adjustments were made throughout the years in order to please her palate and make it easier to cook.

After watching her make it from start to finish, I'm ever more in awe of her culinary abilities which she often downplays. The amount of time, skill and patience put into this dish is not something I am sure I am capable of. In fact, as she was preparing chicken I was thinking of possible shortcuts! But then again, it just wouldn't be the same.

Origins of Italian Stuffed Chicken (Iaddina china)

Let me explain how this dish was prepared in Sicily.  The hen, once killed, was sent to the home of a nearby relative who was known for her great skill in deboning a chicken.  Next, a meatless meatball mixture was prepared consisting of the usual bread, eggs and cheese mixture.  Ground meat was simply not available at the time.

The hen was deboned and  stuffed without removing and chopping the flesh as my mother now does. The filling was simply stuffed into the cavity. The hen was then wrapped in a kitchen towel in order to keep it from opening up and falling apart, and then boiled until done.

When I compare it to my mother's crispy skinned chicken surrounded by carrots and potatoes I was unimpressed by this towel wrapped boiled dish! But since meals with meat were hard to come by in those days, this boiled hen was quite appreciated. Refrigeration was not available so any leftovers were eaten for breakfast the next day. I was thinking about that last week as I sliced up leftovers to make a sandwich for my son's lunch.

My mother's modifications to the original recipe:

Here in Canada, my mother cleverly adapted the recipe by separating the skin from the flesh in one piece. She then removes the flesh from the bones and chops it into pieces to add to the stuffing.  She does this swiftly and effortlessly! I managed to capture a few shots of her capable hands doing so in several step by step photos below. I hope this will be helpful in helping you to visualize the steps in preparing this recipe.

In order to make a heartier stuffing, my mother decided to add ground meat (combination of beef, port and veal) to the filling. Therefore, in order to prevent the filling from oozing out while baking she sews shut the opening in the skin by which she stuffs it.

Here is a photo of the same spool of thread given to her about 50 years ago which she keeps uniquely for making this recipe!

And finally, she opted for oven roasting the stuffed chicken instead of wrapping and boiling it. I must admit I am thankful for this modification which results in a beautiful golden colored, crispy skin!

Here are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. You can find the complete detailed printable recipe card at the end of this post.

How to make Italian Stuffed Chicken (Iaddina china):

Before preparing the filling for this chicken, we must begin with deboning the chicken while leaving the skin intact for stuffing. Here are step by step instructions with images of mom undertaking this task. 

How to debone a chicken: 

Begin with a whole chicken breast side up.

Cut off both wings. Slide your fingers between the breast and the skin and begin loosening the skin. Flip the chicken over and do the same on the back bone.

Detach the skin is from both legs.

Remove the skin in 1 piece.

Cut the flesh from both legs.

Detach the breast meat from the breast bone.

Chop the flesh into bite sized pieces.

Prepare the stuffing:

In a large bowl place the cubed chicken flesh; ; ground meat trio (beef, veal, pork); the crumb of day old bread; combined grated Parmigiano and Pecorino Romano cheeses; shredded mozzarella cheese; eggs, freshly chopped parsley; salt and pepper. Use your hands to combine all ingredients well.

Stuff the chicken:

Use a needle and thread to sew any remaining holes in the skin except for one. This is where you will stuff the chicken from.

Stuff the chicken with the meat/bread mixture evenly distributing the ingredients throughout the skin.

Once again, use the needle and thread to sew shut the whole by which you filled the chicken. Tie the ends where the legs were located with a piece a string to prevent the filling from oozing out while baking.

To roast:

Cut potatoes and carrots into cubes and place in a roasting dish large enough for the chicken. Season with salt, pepper and olive oil and toss to coat. Place the stuffed chicken on the bed of vegetables. Pour a combination of white wine and water over the vegetable. Drizzle olive oil over the skin.

Cover with foil and cook in a 400 degrees F preheated oven. After 30 minutes, lower the temperature to 350 degrees F. After 30 more minutes, remove the foil and cook until golden, the skin is crisp and the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F. Total cooking time will be approximately 3 hours.

Serve hot with the potatoes and carrots.

Tips and suggestions:

• The whole process of deboning the chicken while keeping the skin intact can definitely be daunting. If you don't wish to attempt this, do ask your butcher to do this step for you.
• Do keep the carcass and wings to make chicken broth.
• If you prefer, you may use 1 type of ground meat instead of the beef, veal and pork trio.
• Leftovers keep well refrigerated for up to 3 days.
• Use thinly sliced leftover stuffed chicken for lunches the following day!

If you give this recipe a try, please let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below. Feel free to Pin it for later. Buon appetito!

Here are more poultry recipes for you to try out!

• Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Onions and Raisins
• Chicken Cacciatore 
• Sicilian Sweet and Sour Chicken 
• Bacon Covered Turkey Roulade with Mushroom Filling
• Breaded Baked Chicken Cutlets

Tried this recipe?Mention @mangiabedda or tag #mangiabedda!

Italian Stuffed Chicken (Iaddina china)

This Italian stuffed chicken, or iaddina china as we call it in Sicilian is filled with a flavorful meat, cheese and bread filling. Leftovers are perfect for sandwiches for lunch the next day!

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Prep Time: 1 minute minute

Cook Time: 3 hours hours

Total Time: 5 hours hours

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Sicilian

Keyword: Sicilian stuffed chicken, deboned stuffed chicken, chicken with ground meat filling

Servings: 8 -10 servings

Calories: 906kcal

Author: Nadia Fazio

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 kg grain fed hen

For the stuffing:

• ▢ 4 cups breadcrumbs from day old bread
• ▢ 1 ½ lbs ground meat trio beef, veal and pork
• ▢ 2 cups shredded combination of parmigiano and romano cheeses or only parmigiano
• ▢ 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
• ▢ ¼ cup chopped parsley
• ▢ 4 eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt

For baking

• ▢ 4 carrots diced
• ▢ 4 potatoes peeled and diced
• ▢ ½ cup white wine
• ▢ ½ cup water
• ▢ olive oil for drizzling
• ▢ salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

To debone the chicken and remove the skin

• Place chicken on a clean surface, breast side up. Begin by cutting off the wings and set aside.
• Slide your fingers between the skin and flesh of the breast and begin to loosen the skin from the flesh. Move toward the legs and loosen the skin. Turn the chicken over and in the same manner loosen the skin from the back side.
• Pull away the skin from the bone until it detaches. This will leave 2 holes where the legs were located which will later be tied with string in order to prevent the stuffing from coming out
• At this point you should be able to detach the entire skin from the flesh in 1 piece without too many holes in it. Set the skin aside.
• Use a sharp pairing knife cut away the flesh from each leg. Remove the bones and set aside. Detach the breasts from the rib cage. Cut away any other large pieces of flesh from the bones. It is not necessary to remove each tiny piece of flesh as you'll have enough for the filling. The remaining carcass and wings set aside earlier will make an excellent broth.

For the stuffing:

• Chop the chicken flesh into bite size pieces and place in a large bowl. Add the bread crumbs; ground meat; Parmigiano and Romano cheeses; mozzarella; parsley; eggs; salt and pepper to the bowl. Using your hands mix the ingredients until well combined. You are now ready to stuff the chicken.
• Using a clean needle and thread, begin by sewing shut the holes where the wings were located and any other holes except for where the opening of the cavity was located. This is where you will stuff the chicken from. Tie string around the openings where the legs were located. Next, stuff the chicken making sure to evenly distribute the filling throughout the entire skin. Once filled, proceed to sew shut the remaining gap.

Prepare for baking

• Preheat oven to 400F. Add diced carrots and potatoes to the your baking dish. Add salt, pepper and olive oil and toss to coat.
• Place the chicken on the bed of vegetables. Pour ½ cup wine over the chicken and ½ cup of water directly over the vegetables. Drizzle olive oil on the chicken and coat the surface evenly.
• Cover with foil and place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes lower the temperature to 350F. When 30 more minutes have passed, remove the foil and continue cooking. The chicken will roast for a total of about 3 hours. When done the internal temperature will be 180F and the skin will be crisp and golden.
• Serve hot accompanied by the carrots and potatoes.

Notes

• The whole process of deboning the chicken while keeping the skin intact can definitely be daunting. If you don't wish to attempt this, do ask your butcher to do this step for you.
• If you prefer, you may use 1 type of ground meat instead of the beef, veal and pork trio.
• If you try out this recipe, don't forget to save the carcass and wings to make chicken broth.
• Leftovers keep well refrigerated for up to 3 days.
• Use thinly sliced leftover stuffed chicken for lunches the following day!
• Please note that the nutritional information provided is approximate and may vary according to exact ingredients used and portion size.

Nutrition

Calories: 906kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 61g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 266mg | Sodium: 1414mg | Potassium: 754mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 5879IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 557mg | Iron: 6mg