Gordon Ramsay’s Chicken Ballotine Recipe

This Gordon Ramsay’s Chicken Ballotine is a juicy and impressive recipe, which is made with a garlicky spinach and Gruyère stuffing and finished with a rich red wine pan sauce. It’s the perfect restaurant-quality dish to make at home for a special occasion, ready in about an hour and a half.

Gordon Ramsay’s Chicken Ballotine Ingredients

For the Stuffing:

• 15ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 140g baby spinach
• 100g grated Gruyère cheese (or sharp cheddar)
• 180g bread, cubed
• 1.5g (about ¼ tsp) each of salt and black pepper

For the Ballotine:

• 1 whole chicken, deboned (or 4-6 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts)
• 1.5g (about ¼ tsp) each of salt and black pepper

For the Red Wine Pan Sauce:

• 120ml (½ cup) dry red wine
• 80ml (⅓ cup) water or chicken stock
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 15ml (1 tbsp) soy sauce
• Optional slurry: 1.5g (½ tsp) cornstarch mixed with 15ml (1 tbsp) cold water
• 15g fresh parsley, chopped

How To Make Gordon Ramsay’s Chicken Ballotine

1. Make the Stuffing: In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the garlic and spinach for 1 minute until the spinach has wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Let the mixture cool completely, then squeeze out any excess liquid. In a bowl, mix the cooled spinach with the grated Gruyère and the bread cubes.
2. Prepare the Chicken: If using a whole deboned chicken, lay it out flat, skin-side down. If using thighs or breasts, arrange them on a sheet of plastic wrap, slightly overlapping, to form a large rectangle. Cover with another piece of plastic wrap and use a meat mallet to gently pound the chicken to an even thickness.
3. Stuff and Roll: Remove the top layer of plastic wrap. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Spread the spinach and cheese stuffing evenly over the chicken, leaving a small border around the edges. Starting from one of the long edges, use the plastic wrap to help you roll the chicken up tightly into a log, like a jelly roll.
4. Tie and Roast: Tie the chicken log securely with kitchen twine in 2-inch intervals to hold its shape. Place the ballotine in a roasting pan, seam-side down. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 1 hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (75°C).
5. Rest the Chicken and Make the Sauce: Transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board, cover it loosely with foil, and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.
6. Finish the Pan Sauce: Skim most of the excess fat from the roasting pan. Place the pan over a medium-high heat on the hob. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and water, scraping up all the flavorful browned bits from the bottom. Add the chopped celery, onion, and carrot and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce. For a thicker sauce, whisk in the cornstarch slurry and let it bubble for a minute. Finish by stirring in the fresh parsley.
7. Serve: Remove the twine from the rested chicken ballotine and carve it into thick slices. Arrange the slices on a platter and spoon the pan sauce over and around them.

Recipe Tips

• How to get perfectly juicy chicken? Resting the meat is the most crucial, non-negotiable step. Letting the cooked ballotine rest for a full 10 minutes before you slice it allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, ensuring it is moist and tender, not dry.
• What’s the easiest way to make a ballotine at home? While deboning a whole chicken is a classic technique, using boneless, skinless chicken thighs is a fantastic and much easier shortcut. They are naturally juicy and easy to arrange into a rectangle for rolling.
• How do you get a rich, flavorful pan sauce? Do not wash the roasting pan after you cook the chicken! All the browned, caramelized bits (the “fond”) stuck to the bottom of the pan are packed with flavor. Scraping them up as you deglaze with the wine is the secret to a restaurant-quality sauce.
• Can I make this ahead of time? Absolutely. You can prepare the stuffing and even assemble the raw, tied ballotine up to a day in advance. Store it, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator. This makes the final cooking process much quicker for a dinner party.

What To Serve With Chicken Ballotine

This is an elegant centerpiece dish that pairs beautifully with classic bistro or steakhouse sides. Serve it with:

• Creamy mashed potatoes or a smooth potato purée
• Roasted asparagus or green beans
• A simple, peppery arugula salad with a lemon vinaigrette
• Soft polenta

How To Store Chicken Ballotine

• Refrigerate: Store leftover sliced chicken and the pan sauce in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Reheat: For the best results, gently reheat the chicken slices in the sauce in a covered skillet over low heat until just warmed through to prevent them from drying out.

Chicken Ballotine Nutrition Facts

• Serving: 1/6th of recipe
• Calories: 680 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 25g
• Protein: 45g
• Fat: 40g
• Saturated Fat: 15g
• Sodium: 1150mg

Nutrition information is estimated and may vary based on ingredients and cooking methods used.

FAQs

Try More Gordon Ramsay Recipes:

• Gordon Ramsay Chicken Caesar Salad
• Gordon Ramsay Chicken Soup
• Gordon Ramsay Madeira Sauce Recipe