CookEat Recipe
Capon Stuffed with Chestnuts
A whole roast capon with chestnut, ham and chicken-liver stuffing, finished with its strained pan juices and watercress.
Method
Steps
Step 1
For the stuffing, use fifteen sound, good-sized Italian chestnuts sold for eating. Cook in boiling salted water for thirty minutes as a guide, continuing until tender. Drain and remove both shell and inner skin while warm enough to handle, then put the chestnuts in a clean bowl.
Step 2
Soak two small slices of bread in separate potable water for five minutes. Drain off excess soaking water and add the bread to the chestnuts.
Step 3
Very finely chop half a medium onion and half an ounce lean raw ham. Lightly brown them in half an ounce butter in a saucepan for five minutes as a guide, then add all to the chestnut bowl.
Step 4
Preheat a conventional oven to 350°F. On a separate clean board, very finely chop one raw chicken liver with four branches parsley greens and half a clove garlic. Add these to the bowl with one saltspoon thyme, one raw whole egg, half a teaspoon salt and one saltspoon white pepper. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon and proceed immediately to stuffing and roasting; keep utensils that touch the raw mixture separate from ready-to-eat food.
Step 5
Use one commercially dressed raw capon of about three and a half pounds, with head, feet and entrails removed. Do not rinse raw poultry; singe any remaining down if needed and pat dry with disposable kitchen paper. Put only the actual amount of the prepared chestnut mixture that fits loosely into this same bird, without packing it in. Discard all surplus raw stuffing before roasting. Truss with food-safe kitchen string and lay in a roasting pan. Spread one light tablespoon melted butter over the surface, put three tablespoons cold water in the bottom of the pan and sprinkle one good teaspoon salt over the bird.
Step 6
Roast in the preheated oven for one hour and ten minutes as a guide, turning occasionally and frequently basting with the same pan juices. Continue as needed until a clean digital thermometer reads at least 82°C in the thickest bird meat away from bone and at least 74°C at the centre of the stuffing. Check the thickest breast and inner thigh; time and browned skin alone do not establish doneness.
Step 7
Remove every piece of trussing string and set the whole hot bird on a hot serving dish. Skim the fat from its pan juices and strain these through a small strainer over the capon. Arrange a little washed watercress around it. Serve promptly, carving the bird and taking out all the cooked stuffing for serving.
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