Thanksgiving Menu Roasted Capon Recipes

ROASTED CAPON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the capon, breast-side up, in a large roasting pan and pat the outside dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the cavity generously with salt and pepper. Place the lemons and thyme inside the cavity. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wings under the body. Brush the capon with half of the melted butter, then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Place the onions around the capon, pour the rest of the melted butter over the onions and sprinkle the onions with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Place the capon in the oven and roast for 1 1/2 hours, until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh.
• Remove the capon from the oven and cover the pan with aluminum foil. Allow the capon to rest for 20 minutes, then carve it and serve warm with the onions.

ROAST CAPON WITH FIG-AND-PANCETTA STUFFING

Steps:

• Let capon stand at room temperature 1 hour. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, pancetta, and 1 teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until pancetta begins to render fat and onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add 1 cup broth and the figs to pan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes.
• Stir orange zest and juice, liqueur, and chopped sage into broth mixture. Tear bread into 1 1/2-inch pieces, and transfer to a large bowl. Pour broth mixture over bread, and stir until well combined. Fold in egg.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Place orange wedges in a single layer in the center of a roasting pan; add onion wedges, sage sprig, and capon neck. Stir together 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper, and season body cavity of capon with half the mixture. Loosely pack body and neck cavities with stuffing. Place capon on top of orange mixture in pan. Rub remaining 2 tablespoons butter all over capon, and season with remaining salt-pepper mixture.
• Roast capon 45 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°, and roast, basting every 15 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh reads 165°, 55 to 65 minutes more, depending on size of capon. (If skin becomes deep golden brown before capon is fully cooked, loosely tent with foil.)
• Transfer capon to a platter, and tent with foil to keep warm. Let rest at least 15 minutes before carving. Meanwhile, shred neck meat, and set aside. Discard oranges, onions, and sage from roasting pan. Tilt pan, and remove excess fat with a spoon. Whisk together 1/4 cup broth and the flour.
• Place pan on 2 burners over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 1/4 cups broth, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil, whisk in flour mixture and boil 1 minute. Pour gravy through a fine sieve into a bowl, stir neck meat into gravy, and serve alongside capon and stuffing. Stuffing (without egg) can be refrigerated, covered, up to 1 day. Bring to room temperature before folding in egg and filling capon.

ROAST CAPON WITH LEMON AND THYME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Rinse capon inside and out and discard any excess fat from cavity. Pat capon dry and season cavity with salt and pepper. Put in a large roasting pan and let stand at room temperature 20 minutes.
• While capon is standing, stir together butter, zest, thyme, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
• Turn capon so neck cavity is nearest you. To loosen breast skin, lift neck flap and work your fingers gently between skin and flesh, being careful not to tear skin. Slide your fingers down breast and along both sides all the way to thighs. Put half of butter mixture evenly under skin of each breast, then rub outside of capon to distribute evenly.
• Place 6 lemon wedges in cavity of bird and tie legs together with string.
• Roast capon in middle of oven, basting with pan juices every 30 minutes, 1 1/2 hours. Skim most of fat from pan, then add remaining 10 lemon wedges to pan, tossing with pan juices. Continue roasting capon, basting every 15 minutes, until thermometer inserted 2 inches into fleshy part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, about 45 minutes more.
• Tilt capon in pan to pour out juices in cavity, then transfer capon and lemon wedges to a carving platter and let stand 20 to 30 minutes before carving. Do not clean pan.
• Skim fat from pan juices and straddle roasting pan across 2 burners. Add water and jelly and deglaze pan by boiling over moderately high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Continue to boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper, then pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.
• Carve capon and serve with sauce.

GOLDEN OVEN-ROASTED CAPON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity and rinse the chicken under cold water, inside and out. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Season the body and cavity of the chicken generously with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together the butter, lemon juice and chopped herbs. Rub the herbed butter all over the chicken. Put the lemon halves, onion, garlic and whole herbs inside the bird. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine to help hold its shape.
• Place the chicken, breast side down, on a V-rack in a roasting pan. Cooking the chicken on a rack helps make its skin crisp and keeps it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Pour water in the roasting pan to prevent the fat drippings from burning and smoking.
• Roast the chicken for about 20 minutes, then carefully turn the bird over breast side up. It is best to take the pan out of the oven, close the oven door to maintain the temperature, and rotate the chicken on the counter. Baste the chicken all over with the pan drippings. Turn the heat down to 375 degrees F and return the pan to the oven. Continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees to 170 degrees F, count on this taking about 2 hours. Remove the chicken to a platter and let stand for 15 minutes so the juices settle back into the meat before carving.
• Meanwhile, pour the drippings from the roasting pan into a gravy separator or measuring cup to let the fat rise to the top. Skim and discard the fat then return the pan juices back in the roasting pan. Place the roasting pan on top of the stove over medium heat. Add the sherry and deglaze, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with chicken.

THANKSGIVING MENU - ROASTED CAPON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to medium. Rub the inside of the capon with butter. Place chestnuts in a pot of water and add fennel seeds and red wine for flavor. Boil until chestnuts are done - when they can be penetrated with a fork. Start checking them after about 10 minutes, because you don't want them to get too soft. Let the chestnuts cook, then peel and cut them into pieces. Remove the skin from the sausage and cut it into sections. Place the sausage in a pan and, as it cooks, break it into small pieces. Season with salt and pepper. When the sausage is done, remove it to a bowl, leaving the grease behind. Sauté the interiors in butter and sage until cooked, then chop them. Add the interiors and chestnuts to the sausage and mix well. Stuff this mixture inside the capon, place capon in the oven, and roast for about 1 hour per pound. If you see that the capon is getting too dry as it cooks, add water. Variation: This capon is also good stuffed with Polenta and sausage.

ROAST CAPON WITH WILD RICE SOURDOUGH STUFFING

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Add rice; return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover tightly, and cook for 45 minutes, or until tender. Spread on a plate to cool.
• Meanwhile, place pancetta in a large, deep frying pan over medium-low heat. Cook until fat is rendered and pancetta is crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Add onions and cook until they begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn up heat to medium; add carrots and celery. Cook until soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add stock and bring to a simmer. Add sage and reduce until thick and soupy, about 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Add butter, if desired, and stir until melted.
• Add rice to pan and stir until moistened. Place bread cubes in a large bowl and combine with rice-vegetable mixture. Add more stock as needed until stuffing is slightly moist but not soggy. Stir in parsley.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Season cavity of capon with salt and pepper. Stuff just before roasting. Rub capon with a little softened butter or olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie legs together with butcher?s twine and place in a roasting pan.
• Turn oven down to 375 degrees and roast capon for 25 minutes per pound, or until juices run clear when thigh is pricked with a fork. Let sit, loosely covered with foil, for 10 minutes before carving.

ROAST CAPON WITH MUSHROOM STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• First prepare the stuffing. Heat oil in a large skillet, then saute the onions until they are tender and transparent. Add the celery to the onions and cook until the celery is soft. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until they are tender. Season the onion mixture with the sage, salt, poultry seasoning, pepper and parsley. Toss until well mixed. Process the buns to make bread crumbs, then add them to the skillet and mix until well combined. Remove from the heat and let cool. Once cool, stir the egg into the stuffing. Set mixture aside.
• Remove the giblets and wash the capon inside and out. Rub the bird inside and outside with salt. Loosely fill the cavity of the capon and the neck opening with the stuffing. Fold the skin over the stuffing and skewer the openings.
• Lay the capon in the roasting pan, breast side up. Spread the softened butter on the skin then season the exterior of the bird with Lawry's salt. Add the potatoes and carrots to roasting pan. Roast the capon at 425F with the lid on for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350F and remove the lid. Roast the capon basting frequently with it's own juices for 2 hours or until the juices run clear when pierced.
• To serve, transfer the capon and vegetables to a heated serving dish. Discard the skewers and keep the bird hot by tenting with foil. while making the gravy.
• To prepare the gravy, stir the flour into the roasting pan and bring to a boil over moderate heat on the stove. Add the water, salt and pepper stirring and scraping the base and sides to dislodge any crusty bits. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes stirring until gravy is desired consistency. Strain the gravy into a small saucepan and keep warm until ready to serve.

ROASTED CAPON WITH BLACK TRUFFLES AND CHANTERELLE STUFFING

Steps:

• To make the stuffing, combine the apricots and brandy and set aside. In a large skillet set over medium heat, combine the butter and olive oil. Add the mushrooms and shallots and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender and lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Add the apricots and brandy and cook until the brandy has evaporated. Add the stock and cook until almost dry. Remove the pan from the heat and add the bread crumbs and thyme. Season the stuffing with salt and pepper.
• To make the capon, preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Season the bird generously, inside and out, with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the butter, truffle paste and shallot and stir until smooth. Use your fingers to gently separate the skin from the breast meat, and work your fingers under the skin at the leg. Push the butter mixture under the skin and over the leg.
• Stuff the bird loosely with the stuffing (do not pack it, as it expands during cooking) and truss the bird or tie the legs together securely with kitchen string.
• Place the bird on a roasting pan fitted with a rack and roast for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and continue to roast until the juices of the bird run clear when it is pierced at the thickest part of the leg, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours more.
• Remove the bird from the oven and allow to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Remove the string, and then remove the stuffing. Carve and serve the capon with the stuffing on the side.

STUFFED TARRAGON ROAST CAPON WITH RICH PAN GRAVY

Steps:

• NOTE: You will need to prepared Matzo Walnut and Mushroom stuffing recipe #126858 to use for the capon.
• Pre heat oven to 450 degrees. From capon, remove giblets and neck; set aside. Trim excess fat. Sprinkle body cavity with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Insert fingers under skin on breasts and legs to loosen. With fingers, spread 2 tablespoons of the margarine under skin. Tuck in tarragon sprigs.
• Loosely fill neck cavity with some Matzo, Walnut and Mushroom Stuffing. Fold skin over; secure with poultry pins. Fill body cavity with remaining stuffing. Join skin using poultry pins; tie with kitchen string. Loosely tie legs together. Place, breast side up, on rack in large roasting pan. Rub remaining margarine over breast and legs; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Add 1 cup of the water to pan.
• Roast capon 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Roast 2 to 2 1/4 hours longer, basting every 30 minutes with pan juices, until meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh not touching bone registers 170 degrees. (Place garlic in foil in oven with capon for last hour; roast until very soft.).
• Meanwhile, make broth for gravy: In 2-qt saucepan, combine reserved neck and giblets (except liver), remaining 2 cups water, the broth, celery and onion. Simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 3 cups, about 1 hour. Strain; discard solids.
• When capon is done, transfer to platter; remove stuffing to serving bowl; keep warm. Loosely tent capon with foil; let rest 15 to 20 minutes.
• To make gravy: Halve roasted garlic crosswise; squeeze pulp into small sieve. With spatula, scrape pulp through sieve into cup. Discard fat from roasting pan. Place pan over 2 stove-top burners; add 1/2 cup of broth for gravy. Bring to a boil over high heat, scraping up any browned bits with wooden spoon. Whisk in garlic pulp and potato starch. Add remaining broth. Bring to a boil, whisking, until thickened, 5 minutes. Season with remaining salt and pepper.
• Carve capon. Serve with stuffing and gravy.