Experiment #2: Chorizo-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Last weekend I tried a chicken recipe with chorizo sausage stuffed under the skin.  I loved the flavor of it, but I'm not too handy with whole chickens and didn't get any sausage flavor on the thighs or legs.  

This weekend I decided to try chicken breasts alone.  Instead of sliding the chorizo under the skin, I went with bone-in but skinless breasts, and slashed the meat against the grain to hold the sausage, hoping the sausage grease would permeate the meat better.  I also wondered if I should cook the sausage in a frypan a bit first, to get rid of excess grease and ensure the chorizo was fully cooked.  Since I had two breasts, I did one each way; the one on the left is stuffed with raw sausage and the one on the right with cooked (you can't really see a difference, I used a toothpick in one to keep track).  

 

Because the chorizo sat in slits in the top of the breasts, I knew I wouldn't be flipping them so chose indirect head.  Going skinless was a mistake, the surface of the chicken was a bit dry and leathery (still perfectly edible, however).  Next time I'll either peel the skin back, slash the meat, stuff, and lay the skin back over the breast; or just slash through the skin and stuff (they do look kinda neat with the bright red slashes).  

It's getting closer.