Chicken with barley stuffing

[jet]

I am going to be baking a whole chicken with a pearled barley stuffing. Should I pre-cook the barley before stuffing the chicken? My first thought is to parboil the barley.

 

[miniman]

I would personally. I've never used pearl barley but have done a rice based stufing and that was cooked beforehand.

 

[PytnPlace]

Oh definately precook. It would be like sticking raw rice into the bird. There won't be enough moisture in there to cook fully.

 

[QSis]

ooo! I love barley! It takes forever to cook till tender, so I'd cook it all the way through before stuffing the bird.

Would you please post your recipe, jet?

Lee

 

[jet]

ooo! I love barley! It takes forever to cook till tender, so I'd cook it all the way through before stuffing the bird.

Would you please post your recipe, jet?

Lee

I do not have a recipe yet, but I will post a recap after the fact (although it will be a couple of weeks).

 

[auntdot]

IMHO it must be cooked. Sounds interesting, please post when you get the recipe.

 

[Andy M.]

Not to mention the fact that barley, even pearled barley, swells a good deal when cooked. It's volume could "exceed the ability of the chicken to contain it."

 

[jet]

Not to mention the fact that barley, even pearled barley, swells a good deal when cooked. It's volume could "exceed the ability of the chicken to contain it."

Good point.

 

[Dave Hutchins]

Cook your barley first. I grind mine in a spice grinder and use it to thicken some soups and some sauces it cookes quicker if ground

 

[T-roy]

It's volume could "exceed the ability of the chicken to contain it."

Looks like a science experiment in the making.

 

[jet]

I finally made the recipe and here are the ingredients:

• Pearled barley (pre-cooked)
• Chopped onion
• Mushrooms
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Parsley

I stuffed the chicken and had some barley left, so I placed it in the baking bag with the chicken. I dusted the chicken with poultry seasoning and some salt.

It turned out excellent and I will most certainly be making this again.