A ballotine (from French , 'package') is traditionally a de-boned thigh and/or leg part of the chicken, duck or other poultry stuffed with

forcemeat Forcemeat (derived from the French , "to stuff") is a uniform mixture of lean meat with fat made by grinding or sieving the ingredients. The result may either be smooth or coarse. Forcemeats are used in the production of numerous items found ...

and other ingredients. It is tied to hold its shape and sometimes stitched up with a trussing needle. A ballotine is cooked by

roasting Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizat ...

braising Braising (from the French language, French word ''braiser'') is a combination-cooking method that uses both wet and dry heats: typically, the food is first Browning (cooking), browned at a high temperature, then simmered in a covered pot in cook ...

poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...

. A ballotine is often shaped like a sausage or re-formed to look like the leg, often with a cleaned piece of bone left in the end. In today's commercial kitchens a ballotine is often made from other parts of poultry like the leg meat, and may be made using many types of meat other than poultry. Although ballotines are related to

galantine In French cuisine, galantine () is a dish of boned, stuffed meat, most commonly poultry or fish, that is usually poached and served cold, often coated with aspic. Galantines are often stuffed with forcemeat, and pressed into a cylindrical shap ...

s, they are distinctive by being single-serving items classified as

entrée An entrée (, ; ), in modern French table service and that of much of the English-speaking world, is a dish served before the main course of a meal. Outside North America and parts of English-speaking Canada, it is generally synonymous with th ...

s as opposed to relevés.''Le Répertoire De La Cuisine'', Standard Edition, L. Saulnier They are also served hot or cold, whereas a galantine will be served cold.

References

{{Chicken dishes, state=collapsed Chicken dishes Duck dishes Poultry dishes Stuffed dishes

See also

References