The Capon Caper

The grocery store I normally shop at (Big Y) carries several items during the holiday season that are typically not available without special order during the rest of the year. Just before Thanksgiving I asked an eager young lad (20 something) at the butcher counter if they had any geese. He headed off the back and a few minutes later returned with a nice 14 pound goose - AND a 6 lb capon, telling me "I thought you might also like one of these!"

Two thoughts ran through my mind - what's a capon? ... and nice upsell kid!



So I leave Big Y with a $70 dollar goose and a $24 bird that I need to Google in order to find out what it is! I am not really sure why I did not Google it in the store before I bought it, they have free wifi. I really did not realize that I had bought a $24 chicken until I got home! Now my biggest question was - Does it taste like chicken?

I figured I should probably take a look at some capon recipes just to find out if there is anything different you need to do to a capon. Removing various parts was likely not going to be an issue as those parts had already been removed, but one never knows what other steps might be necessary. Interestingly, Googling capon recipes returns very few results but "Damn You Auto Correct" tries very hard to change capon to Capone, so I figured I had a gangster chicken on my hands (or at least an Angry Bird) and all I really needed to do to cook it check for weapons and if none were found, treat it like a chicken.

So here is my rendition of Roasted Capon.

Ingredients:

• 1 capon (duh) - Mine was about 6 pounds.
• 1 lemon (quartered length ways)
• 1/4 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter softened (room temperature)
• 1 yellow onion (quartered length ways)
• 4 large cloves of garlic (two chopped fine, two smashed)
• About 10 large Sage leaves (6 coarsely chopped, 4 whole)
• Kosher salt
• Fresh ground black pepper

Process:

Allow your capon to sit out until at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 450. Remove any excess fat from around the body cavity openings, wash the capon inside and out with cold water, thoroughly pat dry inside and out, and then generously season both the cavity and entire outer body with salt and pepper. This is a good time to check for weapons and recover the goodie bag of giblets stuffed inside which can be used to make gravy. I personally don't go for the giblets gravy, but the neck can be added to the pot of chicken stock you make the next day using the post capon feast carcass.

Squeeze out a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice from one or two of the wedges and reserve. Stuff the capon with the onions, lemon wedges (even the squeezed ones), smashed garlic, and whole sage leaves; then truss the capon to hold in the stuffed ingredients and hold its shape while cooking.

Combine the butter, chopped sage, chopped garlic, and reserved lemon juice in a small bowl. Spread this mixture all over the outside of the capon. There is no getting out of getting your hands messy here so ensure the kitchen sink pipes are queued up with hot water and that you have soap nearby.

Using a roasting pan with rack, pour about 2 cups of water into the bottom of the pan and place the capon breast down on the rack. Roast in pre-heated oven for about 20-30 minutes, then remove it from the oven, turn it over (breast up), baste with the juice from the pan, and then lower the oven to 375 and return the capon to the oven.

Let it roast at 375 for about an hour, or when the temperature in the thigh reads 155-160 with an instaread thermometer, basting at least once during this time and adding water to the bottom of the pan if needed.  When the temperature is 155 - 160, turn the oven back up to about 450 to crisp the skin (about 10-15 minutes).

And that's it - you have a beautifully roasted capon with some great drippings in the pan for gravy!



So back to the question I know you are dying to know the answer to - Does it taste like chicken?


Yes, yes it does, but a damn good chicken! I'm not going to go out an spend $24 every time I want roast chicken, but for the holidays or special occasions I will do it again. 

Recommended sides:

• Mashed potatoes with gravy made from the drippings.
• Oven roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta.