From Cosa Bolle in Pentola, the newsletter:
Moving on to other things, Tony Pisano recently wrote, "I would like to know if there are any Italian recipes for stuffing for a turkey or chicken. My family was from Calabria and therefore would like a recipe from that region if possible."

Not much in the way of stuffed turkey recipes, I fear -- when I moved to Italy 15 years ago I had to order turkeys from my soon to be Father-in-law (who was a butcher) for the holidays, and he made sure they were female because Italian male turkeys had little in the way of breast meat and muscular thighs. Though turkeys do now appear in markets come holiday time, there is still a distinct dimorphism to them.

Stuffed chicken is another matter. Here's a recipe for a specialty of Vibo Valentia, translated from Ottavio Cavalcanti's Il Libro d'Oro della Cucina e Dei Vini di Calabria e Basilicata. You'll need:

• 1 tender chicken
• 1/2 pound fresh sausage that is seasoned with fennel seeds
• 1/2 pound chicken livers
• 1/4 pound pancetta
• Rosemary to taste (I'd suggest the leaves of a 1-inch sprig of fresh rosemary, minced)
• 1 clove garlic, ground or finely minced
• Olive oil
• Sea Water (use salted water if need be)

Clean the bird, flame it to remove all traces of pin feathers, and bone it. Mince the chicken livers, pancetta, and sausage, and combine the meat with the rosemary, garlic, and a drop of oil. Fill the bird with the stuffing and sew it shut. Baste the outside of the bird and roast it in a moderately hot oven (360 F, or 180 C) until done, basting it every now and then with sea water, which will take the place of the salt.

Cavalcanti doesn't give a time. Roast until the juices run clear if you slip a skewer into the meaty area under the wing joint; this will take an hour or more. When it is done, serve it thinly sliced, crosswise.

A printer-friendly version of this recipe.
Other stuffed birds, and how to bone a bird.

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