Anyone had cockerel for Christmas dinner before?

[Soupandaroll]

….and was it nice?

My grandparents often served capon. Haven't had it in years!

I'm in Australia, chicken and ham are Christmas staples. It never occurred to me to ask what sex the chicken is though.

Butchers daughter here. We always had capon at Christmas. I haven't seen any in years. I'm not sure how they castrated them though.

Tbf I have never really thought about whether the chicken I am eating is male or female, didn't realise it was a thing Capon. Every day is a school day

Ah yes…the year we all fondly greeted the ‘cock ring’ from Donald Russell

Had one a couple of Christmases ago, got at the butchers. Basically a Foghorn Leghorn sized chicken, tasted moist and chickeny but loads of meat. Not cheap. Somehow wasn't really Christmas without dry old turkey haha

There are just three of us now, but I always used to order a capon for Xmas in preference to turkey. I can’t say that it tasted gamey (but we happily eat pheasant and guinea fowl). It tastes like chicken should.

We used to have to pre-order it (possibly around now; I just wait for the butcher to advertise).

For some breeds they will be cockerels rather than chickens as the chickens are kept for egg laying. The chickens you buy in the supermarket maybe be hens or cocks it doesn’t matter as they go to kill at a very young age

I'm in NZ and agree. We always had chicken for Christmas, and aren't keen on turkey.

@ThatBlackCat rooster is American. We’re British, so the male is called cockerel here.

”Chicken” implies female hen. Cockerel tastes different - it’s male, bigger, often older and can be tougher, unless it’s a castrated male which is a capon.

We use different words to explain the difference.

A male bird will have had a longer life, be bigger and possibly tougher.

It may also be a less common breed. It doesn't really matter if you are buying a supermarket cheap bird but if you are going to a butcher and specifying the breed yes it does matter.

The work 'cock' is used for many different male birds so I'm surprised you didn't know the word. This is why 'coq-au-van' is traditionally made with a male bird.

Capon is a cockerel that was castrated before maturity.

My understanding is that a Rooster is a make chicken under 1 year old and a cockerel is a male chicken over 1 year old.

There is no way that the chicken you get on a regular basis from the supermarket are sexed and they are only about 8 weeks old.

We have a Turkey and also a Capon each Christmas

It is illegal to castrate a cockerel in the UK so any Capons purchased here are imported.

Chickens sold in the UK are a mix of male and female as they're broilers and slaughtered before maturity.

Caponisation is absolutely barbaric (I say that as a meat eater).

It's bigger I assume. So in the Booths (Northern Waitrose) Christmas food book, the chicken parcel serves 4 to 6 and the cockerel serves more.

Before turkeys became so cheap cockerel was the common Christmas bird when I was growing up. It's just a chicken!

A cockerel is significantly larger than a standard broiler sold. They are much leaner so meat is stringier and tougher, if not cooked right. You can't cook a cockerel in the same way as a broiler, a cockerel needs slow cooking.

Chicken farmer here. … and this post hits the nails on the head. No different. Except more meat (bigger).
when you buy a chicken in the supermarket 50% of them will be boys. Just won’t have been castrated and therefore not a “capon”.

supermarkets chickens are generally killed at 49 days (7 weeks old).

free range farm shop type chickens are generally killed 9-11 weeks old.

capons can go 12-14 weeks weeks old and will be massive by then.

hope this helps!

Thank you all :)

it went to a vote and the family all want turkey anyway (even if it is often disappointing) We’re hosting this year and I’m going to order from the local butcher so hopefully it will be good.

Cockerel/Capon/Rooster, They are a little stronger flavour, not tough.
Cook for a while longer because they are bigger.
bodied.

Yes if cooked right it is delicious. By right I mean for not too long. Just like turkey it needs time to rest whilst finishing the gravy etc.

Caponization was outlawed in the UK in 1982 but you can still buy it imported from abroad.

Mum used to buy one every year from the local butcher. Its quite a moist meat, we preferred it as turkey can be quite dry.

Its much bigger than a chicken but smaller than a standard turkey.

You don't get much more English than the word cockerel. It what you need if you want baby chickens. When a mummy chicken and a cockerel like each other very much he jumps on her back and gives her a special cuddle. In any hen run you'll find one he likes so much that her back is bald from his claws. It never looks as if she gets much out of it tbh.

I think we have a cockerel every year (apart from the year where I had 3 inches of fat in the baking tray and I think it might have been a goose- I’m
sorry if someone expected a goose but ended up with a cockerel ). I’m not sure, as a friend delivers it with great pride, and refers to it as “the bird”. Apparently it’s organic and 12lb.