Capon with Chestnuts

A melt-in-the-mouth capon meat that falls off the bone, protected by a golden and crispy skin. The chestnuts soak up the reduced cooking juices until they become buttery.

• Prep time: 30 min
• Cook time: 150 min
• Difficulty: Medium
• Calories: 682
• Protein: 35 g
• Carbs: 55 g
• Fat: 31 g

Ingredients

• 600 g Capon ( whole and gutted )
• 533.3 g Chestnut ( cooked and peeled )
• 40 g Minimum butter sweet ( softened )
• 1.3 piece Yellow onion ( quartered )
• 166.7 ml Dry white wine
• 1.3 piece Thyme ( fresh sprigs )
• 1.3 piece Bay leaf ( leaves )
• 1.3 pinch Fleur de sel
• 0.7 pinch Black pepper ground
• 200 ml Chicken stock

Instructions

1. Preparation and seasoning

   Take the capon out of the fridge one hour before. Massage the skin with softened butter, fleur de sel, and pepper. Slip the thyme and bay leaf inside the carcass.

2. Browning

   In a large Dutch oven, brown the capon on all sides with a little butter. The skin should be evenly golden. Remove the poultry and discard excess fat if necessary.

3. Starting the cooking

   Add the onions cut into quarters to the pot. Put the capon back in, deglaze with the dry white wine while scraping the bottom to loosen the juices. Pour in the chicken stock. Bake at 160°C.

4. Basting and garnish

   Every 20 minutes, generously baste the poultry with its juices. Halfway through cooking, add the chestnuts all around. They will slowly candy in the poultry fat and reduced wine.

5. Resting and sauce

   Remove the capon and let it rest for 15 minutes under aluminum foil. Meanwhile, reduce the cooking juices over heat until it coats the spoon. Adjust the seasoning.

Chef's tips

• The secret is basting: the more you baste, the juicier the meat stays.
• If the skin browns too quickly, cover with a sheet of foil during cooking.
• Only add the chestnuts halfway through to prevent them from turning into mush.

Storage

Keeps for 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat gently covered with a bit of jus to avoid drying out the meat.