How to make delicious stuffed chicken legs with Rick Stein's seasonal alpine recipe

How to make delicious stuffed chicken legs with Rick Stein's seasonal alpine recipe (Image: Getty)

Chicken is one of the most popular and versatile meats enjoyed by Britons, and with endless ways to enjoy it, there's no shortage of recipe inspiration.

But those seeking something seasonal and warming can't go wrong with these cheese-stuffed chicken legs inspired by the French alpine regions.

Rick Stein shared his recipe in his BBC show, Rick Stein's Secret France, when the Padstow-based chef reminisced about Comté cheese, a memorable delicacy he enjoyed on a trip to Malbuisson in the Haut-Jura region.

He uses alpine and cream cheese to whip up a tantalising filling stuffed into crispy chicken legs.

It's a recipe that's quick to prepare in just 30 minutes to one hour and perfect for a warming winter meal thanks to the addition of green vegetables and seasoned mashed potato.

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Rick's stuffed chicken legs are perfect for a weeknight meal or to impress guests (Image: Getty)

Rick Stein's stuffed chicken legs recipe

Ingredients

• 30g/1oz butter
• Two tbsp olive oil
• 200g/7oz Portobello mushrooms, finely chopped
• One large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 75g/2¾oz cream cheese or mascarpone, beaten until soft
• 75g/2¾oz Comté or other Alpine cheese, finely grated
• A small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• One tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
• Six chicken legs (thigh and leg together), bone-in and skin on
• 250ml/9fl oz chicken stock
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Mashed potatoes and cooked green beans to serve

Cocktail sticks are essential to keep the stuffing in place while the chicken legs cook.

This dish is versatile and easily customised to your liking (Image: Getty)

Method

First, combine 20g of butter and one tablespoon in a frying pan over medium heat, taking care not to let it burn. Add the chopped mushrooms and garlic and fry them in the buttery oil for about 10 minutes until the liquid has evaporated.

Season the pan's contents with plenty of salt and pepper and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, mix the cream cheese, Comté, parsley, and thyme in a bowl. Add the cooled mushrooms and season with more salt and pepper.

Now, take one of the chicken legs and place it skin-side down on a chopping board. Use your fingers to locate the thigh bone then carefully cut down through the flesh on either side of the bone with a sharp knife.

Take the tip of the knife and cut around the bone, scraping away the flesh to leave the bone as clean as possible. Use your hands to twist the bone at the joint with the drumstick and, with scissors or a knife, cut out the thigh bone.

If done correctly, you should be left with the drumstick bone in place.

Now, use one-sixth of the mushroom stuffing to fill the cavity left by the bone. Secure the flesh over the stuffing with a few cocktail sticks. Finally, brush the skin with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, then repeat with the rest of the chicken legs.

When the chicken legs are prepared, preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Heat the remaining butter in a frying pan and brown the chicken legs before cooking them in the oven.

Transfer the chicken to a roasting tin and roast for 25 to 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Rick noted that an easy way to determine if chick meat is by piercing the thickest part of the meat with a skewer.

It's cooked "when the juices run clear with no trace of pink", he said.

Carefully remove the chicken from the pan and add the chicken stock to deglaze. Be sure to scrape the pan to get all the flavour into the gravy.

Before serving, remove the cocktail sticks from the chicken legs. Plate up with the gravy, mashed potatoes, and cooked green beans.