Cockerels – marinated and roasted

marinated

July 20th, 2012

While pot roasting my cockerel, I mixed up a marinade for the other two birds.

marinade

I used about 200ml olive oil, 8 pieces of garlic chopped, a big pinch of crushed chilli and the juice of half a lemon. Both birds were rubbed liberally with the marinade and I poured a big glug into their cavities. The chicken marinated for 24 hours in the fridge, with an occasional turn to make sure that all parts got equal treatment.

reach for the sky

I let the birds come to room temperature for a couple of hours prior to roasting at 200ºC for one hour and ten minutes. Before going into the oven I poured in a glass of red wine, a splash of red wine vinegar and sprinkled on some salt and pepper.

At the end of cooking time I let the birds rest while I made a gravy, with the juices in the dish and some vegetable stock. I ate a whole bird (it was poussin size) with roast potatoes, broad beans, carrots and cauliflower. The chilli, citrus and garlic flavour went well with a chilled rosado.

The best was last. I reheated the leftover chicken (a day later) in a mixture of the stock from the pot roast and the remaining gravy – this sauce was outstanding, with a delicious concentrated spicy chicken and garlic flavour. Never throw away leftover stocks and sauces 😉