Welcome a New Thanksgiving Dinner Guest: The Capon Give our old friend a break this Thanksgiving. Shayda Soleiman
The leaves are turning amber and the air is growing crisp — all friendly reminders that Thanksgiving is just around the corner. It is difficult not to appreciate a day of festivities that revolves around warmth, family and, most importantly, a fine dinner feast. But many of us can agree that said feast tends to grow a bit tired when serving the same menu, year after year.
This year, celebrate the American holiday with a French twist by welcoming a new bird to the dinner table: The Chapon. Traditionally the centerpiece of the French Christmas dinner, a clipped rooster is plumper than other birds and has a savory meat, one that is juicy and hardly induces a coma. Both French and American families celebrate two family-focused events in November and December, so we at Carnet thought it only appropriate to adopt the traditional French cuisine for Le Réveillon de Noel for this year’s Thanksgiving recipes. Serving capon also paves the way for you, as the chef, to include more French recipes that will make this Thanksgiving a decidedly French one.
And if you want some Thanksgiving conversation starters, read through Art Buchwald’s “Le Jour De Merci Donnant” to understand how the French view our American holiday.
To prepare this Capon as a French Chef would, follow this Carnet-approved recipe:
Ingredients One capon 10-12 pounds
10 oz. ground pork and veal 5 oz. chicken breast cut into French fries size strips Capon giblets (liver, gizzard, heart and neck) 5 oz. bacon strips 2 eggs 1/3 cup Philadelphia cream cheese 3 cloves garlic 5 oz. chopped shallots 4 oz. onions chopped 4 onions cut in quarters 4 peeled carrots Half bunch of chopped parsley 2 oz. crushed walnuts – optional 6 slices of crust less white bread crumbs 4 slices of bread cut up to do croutons Salt, pepper, nutmeg 1 glass cognac Butter, oil or goose fat for cooking Trussing needle and kitchen string
Directions In a sauté pan, brown the liver, heart and gizzard with 1 tablespoon of butter. Flambé with half of the Cognac. Let cool and chop into coarse pieces. Using the same pan soften the 4 oz. chopped onions and 5 oz. shallots. If necessary, add butter to soften.
In a bowl add the pork, veal, eggs, and parsley. Mix with a fork. Add the onion, the chopped garlic and shallots. Mix by hand (using gloves). Fold in the walnuts and chicken breast. Use a Cuisinart to crumble the bread. Add breadcrumbs to the mixture and top with the cognac. Add cream cheese, gizzard, liver and heart. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add a pinch of nutmeg.
Prepare the breadcrumbs by heating oil and sautéing until light brown and add it to the stuffing. Preparing the stuffing takes up to one hour. You can prepare in advance, but if so add the croutons to the stuffing right before.
Cooking Capon Sprinkle salt and pepper inside of the capon then stuff it. It will be packed in tightly. Then truss the capon using a trussing needle and piece of thin kitchen string. Close the neck and bottom openings. Generously apply butter to all of the exterior skin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place into a deep roasting pan and surround with the quarter onions, carrots, bacon and neck of the Capon.
Cook into preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 40 minutes, opening the oven to baste the skin every 20 minutes.
Reduce oven to 300 degrees; cover the bird with aluminum foil and cook for an additional 30 to 40 minutes. Alternative: to extend cooking time reduce heat to 200 degrees and cook for 1 hour. Do not baste the bird when it’s under aluminum foil.
When the Capon is cooked you should take it out of the oven immediately as the temperature will dry out the meat.
Remove the bird; discard the carrots and the neck. Keep the bird warm under a cover of aluminum foil. Take the pan and add boiling water to scrape and release the flavors from the bottom. Transfer all the liquid to a saucepan and reduce the liquid. Remove from the heat and place into a fat separator placing the brown gravy liquid into a gravy boat. The remaining grease can be used for side dishes such as roasted potatoes.
Carve the capon like a chicken after removing all the string. Stick a fork in a leg. Apply pressure to lift it, and slide a knife along the carcass to detach the meat. Cut off at the joint. Stick a fork under a wing. Find the joint with a knife and cut through it. Press down on the fork to remove the wing. Then make a long deep cut down the center of the breast and on each side of the wishbone to detach the breast fillets. Cut them in two long slices.
Do not forget the “sot l’y laisse” also called chicken oysters, two nut size pieces above the bird’s rump. The French consider it the best part of poultry.
The stuffing should be removed by opening the bird, transferring it to a serving dish, and cutting it into slices.
You can enjoy your capon with festive Beaujolais Nouveau, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir or Viognier.
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