Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Italian Classics – The Series – Chicken Involtini

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Italian Classics – The Series – Chicken Involtini

    For those who have followed my Italian Classics Series, you’ll remember my recipe for Veal Rollatini Marsala. As I explained in that introduction, the term "rollatini" is often used interchangeably with the correct Italian term "involtini" with both having the exact same meaning. It’s basically rolling something delicious around something else delicious with the sum being greater than its parts.

    Chicken Involtini is one of those dishes, like so many Italian dishes, that has morphed into numerous variations of itself. For instance, some call for Prosciutto di Parma, or Italian dry cured ham, to be rolled up inside the chicken with the stuffing. Other versions have the Prosciutto wrapped around the outside of the roll, like bacon wrapped. Others leave it out altogether.

    Stuffing can include such ingredients as rice, spinach, pine nuts, sausage, cheeses, vegetables of all different types. Again, the point is to amp up a rather tasteless chicken breast into something with a complex flavor profile that defies its ingredients. Some serve it with a tomato sauce, a wine sauce or a simple lemon, caper and broth pan sauce. Bottom line it’s a very versatile dish that can change by simply adjusting ingredients while leaving the technique exactly the same.

    In order to introduce yet another technique and an additional flavor profile, I went ahead and hot smoked rather than oven baked my final dish. In doing so, it kicked the final recipe up yet another notch and made for a fantastic finish. Yes, there are numerous steps to this recipe but nothing about it is difficult. Give it a try, I think with a little imagination you can make this dish your own by adding your own ingredients to the mix.

    So let’s go ahead make my version of Chicken Involtini !

    Chicken Involtini

    Course. Lunch or Dinner.
    Cuisine. Italian-American
    Makes. 4 servings
    Takes. 60 minutes prep, 45-50 minutes cooking time

    Ingredients – Involtinis


    4 - (6-8 ounce) Large Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
    6-8 ounces Fontina or Mozzarella cheese coarse grated
    4 - Prosciutto di Parma slices cut very thin
    5 ounces baby spinach
    1 pound white or cremini mushrooms fine chopped
    1 tablespoon pine nuts
    3 garlic cloves thin sliced
    Butchers twine or tooth picks
    1 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
    1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
    1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
    2 – eggs beaten for a wash
    3 counts cooking oil like avocado
    1 tablespoon oregano divided
    Salt and pepper to taste

    Ingredients – Wine, Stock, Lemon Caper Pan Sauce

    4-5 garlic cloves finely sliced
    1/2 cup dry white wine like Pinot Grigio
    1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock
    2 tablespoons lemon juice
    1 tablespoon drained rinsed capers
    4 tablespoons butter
    2 counts cooking oil like avocado
    2 tablespoons chopped parsley (1 for cooking the other for garnish)

    Directions – Involtinis

    Stuffing

    Begin with a quick sauté of the garlic in a couple of counts of oil enough to flavor the oil and make fragrant. Add to that the mushrooms and continue cooking until their liquid is released. Salt and pepper to taste.

    Once cooked down, add the spinach. Cover and steam until all the spinach leaves are wilted. Mix well, add the pine nuts and continue to sauté for about 4-5 more minutes until all is well blended. Check the salt level one more time. Empty the mixture into a bowl then set aside and allow to cool.

    When cooled add the Fontina cheese and give the mixture a final stir to blend.

    Chicken Breasts

    For each chicken breast trim any fat or loose pieces. Take a sharp knife beginning with the thinner side of the breast and make a butterfly longitudinal cut clear through to the back side stopping short of going all the way through. Open the butterflied breast gently and lay flat like an open book. Butterfly the remainder of the chicken breasts in like manner.
    Place a good-sized layer of plastic wrap on a counter surface. Onto that place a butterflied breast and cover with another sheet of wrap. With a tenderizing tool or heavy rolling pin, pound the breast until an even thickness of about 1/4” is achieved. Avoid pounding too thin as to damage the meat or creating a hole.
    Remove and discard the top layer of plastic wrap. Season the breast with salt, pepper and oregano. Lay down a thin piece of the Prosciutto on top (I forgot to do this before taking the picture but corrected afterward). Divide the cooled stuffing into fourths and place a quarter of the mixture onto one of the flattened breasts.
    Take and gently roll up the breast using the plastic wrap to aid in rolling. Tuck the mixture in as you roll and keep the breast as tight as possible. Gently tuck the loose ends in to help hold the stuffing in place. Once rolled twist the ends of the plastic wrap and spin several times to firmly hold the roll in place. Do the same with each breast. Refrigerate for at least an hour to allow to firm up.

    Breading

    Set up a breading station with one container having the egg wash and another for the breading. For the breading combine the Italian bread crumbs with the grated parmesan cheese, the chopped parsley and salt/pepper.

    Remove each breast from its plastic wrap. Either use a toothpick or butcher’s twine to cinch the rolls. Gently roll each breast in the egg wash then transfer to the breading. Coat each piece firmly pushing breading onto each breast. Set aside while you heat up your pan.

    In a skillet heat some oil enough for browning of your breaded breasts. Place one or two in the skillet once the oil temperature has gotten heated to about 350*F. Allow the breasts to brown for at least 4-5 minutes without disturbing to avoid sticking. Once browned flip and do all sides. This will not thoroughly cook the breasts but only brown the outer surface. Allow to drain on a wire rack.


    Click image for larger version

Name:	involtini 07.jpg
Views:	554
Size:	115.5 KB
ID:	1223798



    Final Finish

    As mentioned the stuffed breasts have been browned but are not fully cooked. At your option they can be placed in a pre-heated 400*F oven for about 30-35 minutes until they reach an internal temperature of about 160*F.

    Or if you prefer, fire up your grill setup for indirect heat adding enough charcoal to bring the cooker to about 400*F. I recommend using a Teflon coated cooking mat to avoid sticking to the grate. Add a piece of fruitwood for a kiss of smoke and again cook for about 30-40 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 160*F.

    Remove and tent allowing to rest until you finish preparing the remainder of the meal.

    Click image for larger version

Name:	involtini 08.jpg
Views:	268
Size:	151.8 KB
ID:	1223800




    Directions – Wine, Stock, Lemon, Caper Pan Sauce

    Once the involtinis are fully cooked and are resting, make your pan sauce. Take the skillet used in browning the breasts and remove any excess oil and large bits of browned chunks. Re-heat the pan and add a few fresh tablespoon of oil.

    Begin by sautéing the garlic until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Avoid burning. De-glaze the pan with the wine and the chicken stock. Bring to a boil scraping the bottom of the pan to release all of the fond buildup. After reducing by about half, add the butter cut into pats. Continue to stir until dissolved.

    Next add the capers, the lemon juice and the parsley. Reduce the heat and simmer until the desired consistency. If you prefer it thicker, add some additional butter. If thinner add a little more stock.

    Finally add the chicken involtinis back into the pan and spoon over with the finished sauce. Continue to re-heat for about 3-4 minutes until warmed. Turn a couple of times for even heating, pouring the sauce over the tops with each turn. An option to maintaining a crisper crust would be to avoid adding the chicken back to the sauce at all, reserving the sauce to pour over the chicken at service.

    When ready to serve, remove the toothpicks or twine and cut into one-inch slices. Arrange on a platter by lining up the cut discs in an overlapping row covering them with the pan sauce. Add the remainder of the chopped parsley for garnish and a pop of color.


    Click image for larger version

Name:	involtini 09.jpg
Views:	267
Size:	92.4 KB
ID:	1223799



    Plate with several pieces, a bit more sauce along with a veggie and a side starch. Make this your own once again by varying the stuffing ingredients, the combinations are almost endless.

    Enjoy another rustic Italian classic for a delicious, tender and juicy chicken alternative. Buon Appetito !!! Troutman says "Mangia" !!!







    #2
    I was sitting here thinking what I was going to make for supper tonight when all of a sudden, like manna from Heaven it occurred to me to make this!! Praise the Lord and Colonel Troutman!!!

    Comment


      #3
      This sounds Delicious

      Comment


        #4
        Troutman will get this. I personally deleted three of these recipes and will say this fourth one looks a whole lot better with a lot more ingredients.

        Comment


        • Troutman
          Troutman commented
          Editing a comment
          Thanks, according to RayJ I kept exceeding the time out restrictions (whatever that means) so I kept playing with modifying the post. Each was denied, then all of a sudden they all posted. Wacko system I say, wacko 🤔

        #5
        This looks great. Thanks so much in spending the time showing us all the details. It is definitely appreciated!

        Comment


          #6
          Masterful.

          Comment

          Announcement

          Collapse
          No announcement yet.
          Working...
          X
          false
          0
          Guest
          Guest
          500
          ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
          false
          false
          {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
          Yes
          ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
          /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here