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How to truss a chicken
You need a length of string , preferably butcher ’ s twine , that is about a metre long . Fold this in half and tie around the ‘ Parson ’ s nose ’ with a knot .
Pull the legs tight into the vent and then wrap the string around the lower legs and tie another knot . Now you have the vent - where the stuffing is , more or less sealed . Don ’ t worry about a slight gap .
Take the string around the legs on either side and wrap around the wings , tying another knot in the centre . Now your bird is ready for cooking .
Cooking the Poule au Pot
Place the chicken into a large stock pot . Liberally cover the bird with cold water and add all your collected vegetables . The more the merrier really . If you have enough garlic , cut the whole bulb in half and add both halves , as well as about 500 g belly pork .
Actually , if you have it , a pork joint can be cooked in the same pot . Beware of cooking ham because the stock can become too salty .
Bring to the boil and cook for 90 minutes on a low but steady simmer .
Around about an hour into the cooking , test for seasoning .
All but the carrots
Remove all the vegetables from the stock , and if your carrots are large enough , set aside . The rest goes on the compost heap . The peeled and diced vegetables are then added to the pot to cook until tender . Keep the carrots back as they are surprisingly tasty because they have soaked up all those flavours .
Carrot honey sauce
• 1 tbs Dijon mustard
• 1 tbs honey
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs white wine vinegar
Mix the lot and pour over the carrots in a dish , and leave in the oven to keep warm while the rest of the meal is prepared .
To the table
Carefully remove the forcemeat stuffing from the cavity and carve the bird , the pork and present on a dish surrounded by the vegetables .