When it comes to stuffed chicken breast, the sky’s the limit. And with my chicken breast stuffed with crab imperial and spinach, you’re reaching for the stars!
My restaurant days were some of my happiest days, creating incredible dishes, having all eyes on me as I walked across the dining room, and the sheer joy on people’s faces as they enjoyed their meals! One of the more challenging parts of my job running the restaurant was deciding what my specials would be, what would I create to satisfy and amaze my guests. It was always easy to come up with show stoppers when using pricier ingredients, but not everyone that came in was looking for that high ticket entree, they were there to enjoy a good meal without breaking the bank.
For those recipes I turned to chicken, it helped keep the cost down and allowed me to use some higher-priced ingredients as well, blending flavors to make the dish enticing and delicious! I think the fact that I didn’t eat red meat helped me create some really good chicken dishes, and one that I’m going to share with you was always a favorite.
Chicken breasts don’t require a lot of prep, but one thing you do want to consider when working with chicken breasts is that they do need to be pounded out a bit.
Chef Dennis Tip:
Cover the chicken breasts with plastic wrap before pounding them. It keeps bits of chicken from flying around the room and makes the process easier.
Being a chef I always have a meat hammer to work with, but I have been at other people’s homes that didn’t have a specific meat hammer and sometimes you need to be creative. Of course, a regular hammer will do, just remember to wrap it in foil or plastic wrap first and use the side of the hammer, not the head. You can also use a small frying pan and give it a few whacks to flatten it out.
I would, of course, suggest adding a small meat hammer to your kitchen if you don’t already have one, you’re going to use it and it will make your life easier! When pounding out chicken breasts, you do want to use the flat part of any meat hammer, not the ridged sides, the other side is reserved for beef or pork, meats that can use some help in tenderizing. It’s also a good idea to place a layer of plastic wrap under the chicken and one over top of the chicken before pounding.
This will actually help in the flattening process, and keep little bits of chicken from embedding themselves throughout your kitchen! While pounding the chicken don’t strike straight down, you want to almost push the meat towards the outer edges while you pound. We want the breast intact and this is the best way gain size without breaking apart the breast.
I stuffed this chicken breast with a crab imperial mix with some fresh spinach added in, and in Lisa would eat roasted red peppers you would have seen them in the mix as well. People eat with their eyes, so think festive and use colorful foods to add a little extra visual pizzazz to your dishes. If crab meat isn’t in your budget or just isn’t something you enjoy eating, you can always stuff your chicken breast with any of your favorites. Sausage, cheese, spinach and apples, would make a great stuffing especially for this time of the year, or if you would like to keep it simple how about a nice bread stuffing with mushrooms! The dish is yours be creative.
If crab meat isn’t in your budget or just isn’t something you enjoy eating, you can always stuff your chicken breast with any of your favorites. Sausage, cheese, spinach and apples, would make a great stuffing especially for this time of the year, or if you would like to keep it simple how about a nice bread stuffing with mushrooms! The dish is yours be creative.
I had intended to make a Dijon cream sauce for this dish, but had no Dijon on hand and just didn’t have the time to run to the store, so I made a Horseradish Lemon cream sauce, have fun with the sauce and use what you have on hand. When I developed recipes in my restaurants, I would use what I had on hand and just combine flavors that went well together, just don’t be afraid to experiment!
If you enjoyed this recipe you may also like these:
- Crab Imperial
- Flounder stuffed with Crab Imperial
- Stuffed Lobster Tail
- Shrimp and Mushrooms Stuffed with Crab Imperial
- Salmon Stuffed with Crabmeat and Cream Cheese
Stuffed Chicken Breast- Crab Imperial and spinach wrapped in puff pastry
Ingredients
- 4 6 ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded thin
- 1 lb lump crabmeat
- 8 oz baby spinach
- 2 oz roasted red peppers (optional)
- ½ cup Mayonnaise Hellman’s preferred
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon old bay
- 2 sheets puff pastry dough (defrosted)
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
Lemon Horseradish Sauce
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
- juice of one half lemon
- pinch of black pepper
Instructions
- Trim chicken breasts and pound thin (chicken should almost double in size)
- Cook spinach in a little water until completely wilted. Squeeze out all the water from the cooked spinach.
- Mix mayonnaise, egg, sugar, and old bay together and blend well, this is your imperial sauce.
- Mix together crabmeat, spinach and roasted peppers (if your using them)
- Add the imperial sauce and mix together. (do not add all the imperial sauce in at one time in case its too much sauce for your mixture, the mix should be loose but not too loose.) Chill this mixture for at least 30 minutes, it will be easier to work with.
- Place chicken breasts on a tray and divide mixture between the four breasts.
- Wrap breast around the crab meat mixture, tucking in all the sides until a nicely shaped ball is formed.
- Place stuffed chicken seam side down in a casserole dish, adding a little chicken stock, or water in the bottom to keep the chicken moist, cover with foil and bake in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes.
- While the chicken is cooling prepare your puff pastry dough, by rolling it out so that’s it’s a little thinner and larger (you want to have 4 eight inch squares)
- Place cooled chicken breast in the center of the puff dough and wrap the dough around the breast sealing the dough under the chicken breast *
- At this point, you can refrigerate your chicken and bake it later in the day
- Before baking, brush dough with a lightly beaten egg, place in 350-degree oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry dough has a nice golden brown color.
While the chicken is baking make your sauce.
- Melt butter in small pan, then add in the flour, allow the roux to cook for 5 minutes on low, do not let it darken or burn.
- Add in warm chicken stock and mix well
- Add in heavy cream and continue to mix if the sauce seems to thick add in more chicken stock or a little water.
- Add in horseradish, lemon juice and black pepper, taste and adjust according to your tastes, using more horseradish if you like.
- Serve chicken with lemon horseradish sauce and sides of your choice.
The Kitchen Noob
Jen (my wife) has been “encouraging” me to pound out chicken when I make Parmesan chicken or panko crusted chicken for oriental chicken salad…now I guess I have no excuse! lol
Looks great and happy birthday!
Liz
That last photo is making my mouth water! Fabulous dish, Dennis!!!
PS…I’m exhausted just reading about your days~
Mandy - The Complete Cook Book
Heaven on a plate – absolutely perfect! Sadly we battle to get crab meat here – can only source king crab at exorbitant prices.
Have a super week.
🙂 Mandy
MadAboutMacarons
You can’t go wrong with the chicken – it’s always a hit! (sorry, I just HAD to say that.)
Love the stuffing – great idea using crabmeat. And so glad you didn’t have the Dijon – that lemon horseradish sounds absolutely delicious.
Good luck with the 16hrs – we’re thinking of you!
Marguerite
Omg, this dish is over the top! I’ve had chicken stuffed with crawfish, but never with crab meat! I can only imagine how scrumptious this is, and that sauce is just fabulous! Good luck with your busy days and remember to take time to relax, now and then. Thanks for another great recipe!
Monica @ Everything Awesome About Food
I have to try this!
Manu
I love that there is pastry around this chicken! And the stuffing sounds amazing too. I am actually happy you did not have Dijon mustard on hand or I would have missed out on that delicious lemon horseradish sauce!!!
Ann
Delicious! Crab meat would be in my list to use, but with allergies, I’d do spinach, pine nuts and maybe a wee bit of garlic and parmesan. I love, Love, LOVE the sauce you made with it!
I hope the classes go by quickly and productively!
Brooks at Cakewalker
Chef, You’ve rocked this chicken dish! The tasty photo drew me in, but the flavor profiles seal the deal. Filed under “Must Try”. Bravo, good man!
Baking Serendipity
I love stuffed chicken, but have never added a second meat to the stuffing. Usually it’s full of veggies and cheese 🙂 Yours looks delicious! It’s crazy to think, but I’ve already survived 6 weeks of my school year. The beginning of the year business has subsided and it’s sort of nice to fall into a routine again. Hope your busy days slow down a bit soon!
Boulder Locavore
This looks great and I would never think of stuffing it with crab meat. But then maybe if it was MY birthday I’d think of it! HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHEF DENNIS! As you are in the midst of your long haul I hope you had a bit of relaxation and football today.
Ok I know about the past in fashion photography but did not know you ran a restaurant. Hoping for a fill in on that!
Thanks for the consistently beautiful food. This is a wonderful reminder for the cooler weather and to spark creativity for filling.
Mari @ Mari's Cakes
Great recipe Chef! I have it already printed and shared. Thanks!
Belinda @zomppa
What a beautiful dish! The pastry looks perfectly done with that chicken. Great technique.
Curt
That is so awesome. I have always been a backyard smoker and grilling guy, and obviously that’s why my blog is in that niche. But lately I have been reading so many different food blogs, I have learned so many things and have been expanding my cooking.
I always wanted to know how this process was done. I’ll be trying this one.
Brian @ A Thought For Food
Wow! This sure what a marvelous recipe, Dennis! Looks like you did an amazing job!