If you love chicken and are not a fan of turkey, then it’s worth considering a Christmas Cockerel for your Christmas feast this year. They can weigh up to 6kg, so you can feed a crowd and enjoy the leftovers, and they are considerably cheaper than turkeys. We have free-range cockerels and large chickens available to pre-order for Christmas.
You can roast your cockerel exactly as you would a chicken, allowing for longer time due to its size, but here is an indulgent adaptation of the chef Simon Hopkinson’s recipe which is hard to beat.
Ingredients:
- 4kg free-range cockerel
- 250g/4oz good butter, at room temperature
- Salt and pepper
- 2 lemons
- 4 good sprigs of thyme/tarragon
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Method:
- Ensure that you remove the cockerel from the oven at least an hour before you start cooking as you need the bird to be at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 180˚C/Gas Mark 4. Smear the butter all over the bird. Put the cockerel in a large roasting tin allowing space around the edges. Season heavily with salt and pepper and squeeze over the juice of the lemons. Put the herbs, garlic and remnants of the lemons inside the cavity, which will add flavour and increase the juices for the gravy.
- Roast the cockerel in the oven for 16 minutes per 450g, plus an extra 16 minutes or until the juices run clear. (If the cockerel is browning too much place foil lightly over the top.)
- The bird should be golden-brown with a crisp skin and have buttery, lemony juices of a nut-brown colour in the bottom of the tin.
- Take the cockerel out of the oven to rest for at least 25 minutes before carving, pouring all the cavity juices & herbs into the pan. This enables the flesh to relax gently, retaining the juices and ensuring easy, trouble-free carving and a moist bird.
- Stir & heat the pan juices, adding white wine or chicken stock if you want extra gravy. Sieve and serve with the usual Christmas accompaniments.
By
Fred's Food