July 20th, 2012
While pot roasting my cockerel, I mixed up a marinade for the other two birds.
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.
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 😉
You’re having a real bird week here. Must be all this fowl weather!
Most fowl weather indeed – it’s giving me the bird 😉
Oh, looks even better than the pot-roasted bird and as for the sauce, that must have been wonderful! You’re right – leftover sauces and stocks are good.
Thanks, they were all delicious, but the sauce just kept getting better and better 😉
The cockerel cull has led to some very good eating. That sounds totally delicious – wonderful flavours.
It definitely has 😉
Looks finger lickin’ good Colonel MD…. I have a question though … These birds of yours that I know are good and home raised do look skinnier than the organic corn fed ones I usually buy . Why is that , when I know for sure that these birds of yours are raised organically and naturally . I am now suspect of those bought birds that I had previously trusted . Those fat rounded birds I buy are not natural are they ?
Good question. These chicken were quite young and would have grown a lot bigger. Supermarket chicken, however, are bred to grow larger that normal, very quickly, which can give them leg problems. They can also be injected or fed with growth hormones. Some supermarket meat is injected with water to bulk it up after it is killed.
If you look at organic chicken, in the butchers or supermarkets, it does look less fat that the cheap, factory farmed variety.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/178321-what-is-organic-chicken/
I see … similar to the Olympic Athletes then ? ( Joke)
What is a cockerel? Looks like a chicken to me….terrrific post…will have to look up Fahrenheit equivalency for the temps….
Thanks Natalia! A cockerel is a male chicken 😉
Ah! I believe we would call it a capon here….Love it when we can bridge the linguistic gap….
Will you be doing a special Olympic menu?
I think a capon is a cockerel (rooster) that’s been castrated.
Don’t hold your breath for an Olympic menu – that would be a multicultural feast I suppose. According to this list that would be 257 dishes 😉
http://www.listofcountriesoftheworld.com/
Aha! Thanks for the clarification….(ouch)
Dear Natalia.. just a thought … See above for Growth Hormone reference ! I dont think Mad Dog would include any steroids or growth hormones in any of his dishes… ha ha
MD, those cockerels did not die in vain. What a feast you prepared! I’ve become a fan of adding vinegar to sauces and I bet it brought a gerat depth to your sauce here. And you’re so right. Never toss the sauce. I’ll freeze and label it before I’ll ever throw one away.
Thanks John. Vinegar definitely adds a little something extra. I add a little at the beginning of cooking and often towards the end to bring back the flavour.
I had to Google cockerel as well, lol! Why do you want a male chicken.. do they have more flavor? I love your marinade.. some day I’ll be organized enough to get these ready for company the following day! Fantastic flavor to be had when it’s soaked up those lovely juices for that long!!
Thanks Smidge, some friends of mine bought some rare breed eggs and hatched them out, hoping they’d all be hens…
well i certainly have no shortage of cockerels! and the next day is always best for gravy and stock, that would have been a taste sensation! c
They do make a good dinner choice, considering they are noisy, fight each other and don’t lay eggs 😉