Chicken Galantina is a well-loved Filipino holiday stuffed chicken that is traditionally served cold. Its savory filling and elegant presentation make it perfect with bread, rice, or as part of a festive spread.
Making Chicken Galantina requires patience, especially when deboning the bird. Deboning cleanly without tearing the skin takes careful, steady work—I prefer using a paring knife and starting at the cavity near the tail (pope’s nose), gently separating meat from bone. The wing bones are often the trickiest to remove, but taking the time to do it properly gives a neat result and makes stuffing and rolling much easier.
Marinating the chicken before stuffing helps infuse flavor throughout the meat. I combine soy sauce with lemon or calamansi juice and marinate the whole chicken for about 30 minutes so the meat absorbs the seasoning. Once marinated, stuffing the chicken with the prepared meat and vegetable mixture is straightforward and rewarding.
When steaming, cooking time depends on the size of the chicken and the amount of filling. Wrapping the stuffed bird in cheesecloth and tying the ends with kitchen twine prevents sticking to the steamer and keeps the filling secure. After steaming, allow the galantina to cool before refrigerating for several hours—this helps it set and makes slicing cleaner. Like embutido, Chicken Galantina is best served chilled.
Try this Chicken Galantina recipe and share your feedback.
Watch How to Make It
Chicken Galantina Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken deboned
- 1 lb. ground pork
- 4 pieces Chinese sausage
- 3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 2 pieces hard boiled eggs
- 3/4 cup minced ham
- 3/4 cup chopped Vienna sausage
- 1/2 cup minced yellow onion
- 1/2 cup minced carrot
- 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 5 tablespoons bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup soy sauce
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
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In a bowl, combine ground pork, minced ham, chopped Vienna sausage, chopped red bell pepper, minced carrot, minced onion, raisins, and sweet pickle relish. Season with salt and ground black pepper and mix thoroughly.
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Add bread crumbs to the mixture and combine until evenly distributed. Set the filling aside.
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In a separate container, stir together the soy sauce and lemon juice to make the marinade.
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Place the whole deboned chicken into the lemon-soy mixture and let it marinate for about 30 minutes so the flavors are absorbed.
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Remove the chicken from the marinade and stuff it with half of the meat and vegetable filling.
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Place the hard boiled eggs and Chinese sausage pieces inside the chicken, then add the remaining filling to completely pack the cavity.
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Wrap the stuffed chicken tightly in cheesecloth and secure both ends with kitchen twine to keep its shape during cooking.
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Prepare a steamer and bring about 1 to 1 1/2 quarts of water to a boil.
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Steam the wrapped chicken for approximately 90 minutes, or until the meat and filling are fully cooked.
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Allow the chicken to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 3 to 6 hours so it firms up for clean slicing.
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Unwrap and slice into serving pieces.
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Serve chilled. Enjoy and share with family and friends!