Confused about Capons

   I don't live on Sesame Street but I think Big Bird made an appearance here. Sometimes I order meat from a company called D'artagnan. Mostly duck but if they have something on sale or an item I can't get locally, I'll try it. This time when I ordered my duck they had Capons on sale.
   I am more than a little embarrassed. I lived on a farm for many years and raised chickens for eggs and butchering. I had heard of chickens called Capons and thought that they must be a different breed. My favorite breeds were Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks. They were good egg layers and were meaty enough to butcher. Occasionally we would buy a meat breed but we wanted chickens that were good for egg production as well as meat. So what about the Capons?
I did a little research and found out that the Capon I had ordered was a rooster that had been gelded or castrated at a young age. And according to the D'artagnan website they are fed a rich diet of milk or porridge. They grow to be larger than average chickens but smaller than turkeys. It's advertised as full breasted, tender, juicy flavorful meat. And I believe it delivered on that promise.
   It easily fed our four adults and I have enough left over that tomorrow I'll make Allrecipes "Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup" that we featured in an earlier blog. If you are having a small dinner party or Thanksgiving celebration for a smaller number of guest this might be the way to go. The Capon recipe I used was from the "Barefoot Contessa" Ina Garten of Food Network fame. The Capon's cavity was salt and peppered and stuffed with lemons and thyme sprigs. The exterior was brushed with butter and salt and peppered. Simple, give it a try!

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