Chicken Sausages and Sweet Peppers

Many of Winnipeg’s specialty meat and grocery shops make delicious fresh Manitoba chicken sausages. These sausages are great on their own, or try them in a recipe like the one below.
 

1 tbsp minced fresh herbs (basil, oregano, thyme etc)

Preheat oven to 425F. Prick sausage casings in a few places and place on a foil lined baking sheet.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, turning once, until a thermometer inserted into the sausages reads 175F. (Alternately grill or broil sausages for 15-17 minutes, turning once.)  

While sausages are cooking, remove stem and seeds from peppers and slice them into ½ inch strips. Slice onion vertically and thinly slice garlic. Heat oil in a skillet and add vegetables. Stir cook until onions and garlic soften (about 8-10 minutes). Slice cooked sausages into 2 inch pieces.  Add sausages and fresh herbs to vegetables and stir to mix. Serve immediately.

* Hot Lemon Chicken Sausages – Piazza De Nardi; Chicken Pesto Sausages, and Chicken Sundried Tomato & Mushroom Sausages  – Stephen and Andrews.

Serve with Lobkowicz Baron Dark Lager ( Czechoslovakia) or  Erdinger Dark Wheat beer (Germany) or Fort Garry Dark Ale ( Manitoba)

Makes 4 servings

Ultimate Roast Chicken

Remove the chicken from the fridge and let sit in the wrapper at room temperature for 30 minutes before roasting.  Preheat the oven to 400F. Remove the neck from the chicken. Discard neck or save to make soup stock. Cover the bottom of a roasting pan with foil. Place onions in the bottom of the pan. Season the chicken with salt and pepper (or a spice blend such as Manitoba Chicken Spice** or Montreal Steak Spice).  Do not stuff.

Using cotton string (butcher string), tie the legs together and tie wings to the body. Place the chicken, breast side up, on top of the cut onions. Cover loosely with a tent of foil and roast for 1 hour. Remove the foil tent, turn heat down to 350F and continue roasting until a thermometer inserted in the breast reads 185F/85C. The juices should be clear and the meat no longer pink. (Total cooking time will be approximately 55-65 minutes per kilogram or 23-30 minutes per pound).

Remove from the oven and transfer the chicken to a cutting board to sit, covered, at room temperature for 20 minutes to allow the juices to settle before carving. The internal temperature will rise another 5-10 degrees during this time. Pour the pan juices into a bowl. Put the bowl in the freezer to allow the fat to harden before making pan gravy. Carve chicken and put pieces on a warm platter. Serve with pan gravy, mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Pan Gravy - Skim hardened fat from pan juices. Add warm chicken stock or white wine to the juices to make 1 3/4 cups of liquid. Pour 1/2 cup of liquid into a sauce pan and heat. Stir in 2 Tbsp flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually whisk the remaining liquid and stir cook until the mixture boils and thickens. Strain if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes about 2 cups.

* Heritage Lane Farms roasting chickens are available from meat shops such as Miller’s Meats, De Luca’s, Piazza de Nardi, Public Meats, and Stephen and Andrews. 

For a complete list visit www.chicken.mb.ca/buyingguide.html** Manitoba Chicken Spice is available for $4.00/1lb bag from Manitoba Chicken Producers, 1357 Kenaston Blvd in Winnipeg (Monday to Friday 8AM – 4PM).

Serve with Louis Latour Mersault (France) or  Marques de Caceres Gran Reserva Rioja (Spain)

Makes 6-10 servings depending on the size of the chicken