Deboning Entire Chicken:

Removing Wishbone:

Place the chicken with the breast-side up on a chopping board. Pull back the skin at the top of the breast towards the neck. Feel around to locate the triangular wishbone.

Using a sharp knife, create 2 diagonal incisions as close to the wishbone as possible. Being careful not to get poked as the bones may already be broken, using your fingers, pull out the 2 wishbone bones.

Detaching 2 Shoulder Joints and Upper Half:

Cut off the flat wing tips - as this part tends to burn during roasting. Save them to make chicken stock if desired.

Cut the skin of the chicken along the back bone - from the neck all the way down to the top of the tail.

Lay the chicken so you have easy access to the shoulder, find the shoulder joint towards the top, and through the gap in the skin cut this joint so that the chicken wing becomes detached from the main body of the chicken. Adjust the position of the chicken for the other side, and repeat this for the shoulder joint on the other side.

With the chicken still on its "butt" so it is sitting upright. Holding the neck of the chicken firmly with one hand, grab one of the detached shoulders with the other hand, and pry that shoulder out and back to the side, detaching that side of the chicken towards the back from the central rib cage until you see the "oyster". Do the same thing on the other side.

Detach the front of the chicken from the central rib cage completely by putting 2 fingers on either side of the middle breast bone, and pull the front flesh all the way down. At this point, the entire upper half of the chicken should be detached from the main central rib cage.

Detaching 2 Hip Joints and Lower Half:

Lay the chicken on its side again. Cut the oyster towards the bottom. Swivel the thigh up as if bringing the "knee" of the chicken towards its head, then pry the thigh down so the hip joint cracks open.

Use a knife to completely detach this hip joint, and pull the leg away from the central rib cage.

Lay the chicken on its other side, and repeat this for the hip joint on the other side. At this point, you can completely pull the central rib cage off, separating the outer body of the chicken.

Take the central rib cage you just separated, and use your fingers to detach the 2 fillets from either side of the central breast bone. Do this for both fillets. Set the fillets aside for now.

Deboning the Legs:

Using a sharp knife, cut the meat around the tip of the thigh bone towards the hip joint, until the tip of the bone is exposed. Use the knife to scrape the flesh down the bone, until the entire thigh bone is exposed and you reach the knee.

Similarly, cut the meat around the knee joint, then scrape the flesh down the leg bone, until you reach about 1 inch away from the end of the leg bone.

When you've scraped the flesh down to the last inch of the leg bone, tuck the bone into the meat to fold the meat right-side out again, use the back of your heavy knife to break the bone at that point. Remove the leg/thigh bone.

Repeat these steps with the other side to remove the other leg/thigh bone.

Deboning the Wings:

Hold one wing at the base of the shoulder joint, and use a knife to cut around the meat at the tip of the bone on the opposite side.

Then just using your fingers, push the meat down towards the shoulders. When you reach the shoulder joint, just pull the bone out. It should detach from the shoulder joint easily. You can use a knife if needed.

Repeat these steps with the other side to remove the other wing bone.

The chicken should be fully deboned now (except for the nubs of the legs and the middle wing bone). The skin of the chicken will shrink during roasting, so we are keeping those leg nubs and middle wing bone on so the chicken keeps its shape while baking.

Marinating Chicken:

In a large bowl, add 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1 cup water, 3 tbsp granulated sugar, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 5 cloves garlic smashed, and 1 bay leaf.

Mix this well so that the sugar is dissolved into the liquid.

Add the deboned chicken into the bowl. Let chicken marinate in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours.

Remove chicken from the marinade, pat it dry, and let it air dry at room temperature for 1 hour. This is also a good resting point, and you can leave the deboned and marinated chicken in the fridge overnight.


Stuffing the Chicken:

If you left the chicken in the fridge overnight, bring the chicken to room temperature by leaving it at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours before baking.

In a large bowl, add in 1/2 cup ground pork, 2 tbsp crushed pineapple, 2 tbsp pickle relish, 2 tbsp minced Kalamata olives, 1/4 cup of grated gouda or edam cheese (queso de bola), 1 egg, 2 tbsp yellow onion, minced, 2 tbsp carrots, minced, 2 tbsp of diced chorizo, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp ground black pepper. Mix this till together until this pork embutido mixture is well combined (note: you can double or triple this pork embutido recipe with excess ingredients, and just cook this stuffing in a roll of foil by steaming it, just like you would if making pork embutido without the chicken). Cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit for 1 hour to let it come to room temperature.

Boil 2 eggs till they're hard-boiled. Peel them, and let them come to room temperature.

Spread the chicken on a flat surface with the skin-side down, so that the chicken is flat and the thickness of the meat is as even as possible throughout. Lay the 2 breast fillet pieces in a diagonal "V" shape, right above the 2 thighs. It should fill the gap and make the thickness of the flattened chicken more even.

Once you have an even layer of skin and an even layer of meat, push a little stuffing into the leg cavities - do not overstuff the legs, as the stuffing will expand while cooking. Spread stuffing evenly over the flattened chicken surface. Place 2 hard-boiled eggs (peeled) in the middle of the chicken. Then fold the sides of the chicken over the eggs, overlapping slightly.

Carefully invert the chicken so that the seam side is down. Tuck any overhanging skin over so that it helps to "seal" any holes or gaps. Cross the legs.

Take a long piece of butcher's twine, about three arm span’s length. Tie a double knot around the end of the legs, so that one end of the string is short (about 2 inches), and the other end is very long. Taking the string over the top of the chicken, create a big loop with the string, tie a simple half hitch knot, but just don't tighten it yet. Slide the loop around and under the chicken towards the legs, stopping about 1 inch from the initial double knot. Tighten the half hitch knot at the top center part of the chicken. Be careful not to tighten it too much, as the stuffing will expand a little while roasting.

Repeat this process along the length of the chicken, until the chicken is secured by repeating "rungs" of twine around the side of the chicken. At this point, there should be butcher's twine running along the top middle part of the chicken, with half hitch knots along the center.

When you reach the end of the cylindrical chicken shape, gently roll or flip the chicken over so the seam side is now up. Re-tuck any overhanging skin that might have come loose, and try to tuck in any stuffing that may be sticking out. Use the twine to seal the bottom of the seam of the chicken by looping the twine around the "rungs" one by one, going down the length of the chicken, so that there are half hitch knots along the seam, just like on the other side of the chicken.

When you reach the other end of the cylindrical chicken shape (the end with the legs), tie the loose end of the twine around the legs again, using the short 2-inch end of the twine that was used to create the initial double knot. Tie another double knot to secure the twine. Trim off any excess twine at this end.

Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a bowl. Add in 1/4 tsp paprika. Baste the skin and all outer surfaces of the chicken with this mixture.

Roasting:

Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C).

Place your chicken, seam-side down on a metal rack on top of a baking sheet to catch the drippings.

Roast in the preheated oven at 350 F (175 C) until chicken and pork reach an internal temperature of 165 F (74 C), approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. Check with a meat thermometer at the 1.5-hour mark. If it's not yet done, return to the oven and keep checking every 15 minutes. Once the internal temperature reaches 165 F (74 C), let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Optional Step for Gravy:

While the chicken is resting for 15 minutes, transfer drippings and scrape bits of crisped up skin/oils from the baking tray into a small saucepan.

Add 1 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup of whole milk. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, breaking up any lumps in the flour.

Bring to a simmer on medium heat, and whisk until the gravy comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Add 1 tsp fresh thyme and whisk until the gravy coats the back of a spoon, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Serve the gravy over the chicken galantina. This can be served hot or cold (from the fridge). Enjoy!