Boned Chicken Elegant

1. Set bird on tail. At inside of neck opening, find joints attaching wings to back. Make cuts to expose bones; cut through joints. At same place, cut through joint connecting breastbone and back. Leave wings intact.

2. Loosen meat from wishbone; remove wishbone. Work finger along breastbone to free meat from bone.

3. Work fingers around rib cage to back and as far down backbone as you can, loosening meat and cutting cartilage as needed. Break ribs; remove.

4. Loosen or cut remaining meat from backbone. On the inside of the bird cut across bottom of the backbone to separate the tail and the backbone, leaving the tail attached, if desired. Break joints connecting lower backbone to thigh bones. Cut through joints. Remove remaining backbone and attached rib cage.

5. Break leg-thigh joints. Loosen meat from thighbones; remove thighbones. If any meat comes out with bones, remove it from bones; return it to cavity.

6. In a small saucepan cook onion in hot butter or margarine until tender but not brown. Remove from heat; stir in poultry seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and dash pepper. In a large mixing bowl combine onion mixture and bread cubes. Drizzle with juice. Add fruit and parsley. Set aside.

7. Lay bird breast side down. With needle and thread, sew back skin closed it if has been torn. Sew neck closed; secure thread. Spoon fruit mixture into cavity. Carefully turn bird breast side up. Sew bottom opening closed.

8. Tie legs to tail. Twist wing tips under. Insert skewer through wings and breast. Insert skewer through thighs and body cavity. With twine, tie skewers in figure-8 pattern on back of bird. Insert meat thermometer into the meat in the thigh area.

9. Place bird, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Brush with oil or melted butter. Roast, uncovered, in a 375 degree F oven 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hours or until meat thermometer registers 180 degree F. Remove skewers, twine, and thread. Cover; let stand 15 minutes. To carve, cut bird into quarters. Garnish with red grapes, if desired. Makes 4 servings.