Coq au Vin - Marinated Cockerel

Breeding your own fowl is not always as simple as it might seem. This year a broody hen hatched out some chicks, as the stock needed replenishing. The older hens were no longer laying well and it was time to breed some more, to replace them.

How to hang a cockerel

Problem was that after a hawk attack there were only four chicks remaining, three of which turned out to be cockerels. One of these would be kept to replace the old rooster, and the other two were destined for the pot. There is no other practical use for surplus cockerels, they had a jolly life, being utterly and completely free range, more so than most poultry can ever expect - but their number was up.

When the time came to do the dirty deed, the birds were starved that day - no point in wasting good hen food, and it makes them easier to clean out.

Not much here would pass current health and safety standards and yet killing your own fowl is perfectly natural, something that mankind has practised for thousands of years, without any bother. The birds led a charmed and healthy life until they met a quick clean and sudden end. Two ways of doing this: either by wringing their necks or chopping off their heads, the latter was chosen in this case.

Plucking a cockerel

The two young cockerels, were killed at night and were totally unaware of the fate that awaited them. They were hung by the legs over night (game birds are hung by the neck). The next morning they were plucked, heads and feet removed (if we were in another country, these would not be wasted). The birds were then gutted, taking care to put the hearts, livers and gizzards aside. When did you last eat a gizzard in Ireland? - A delicacy in France, commonly eaten there and yet we are told the EU will not allow us to eat them. Try making a gizzard salad and a liver pate with garlic, thyme and brandy.

RECIPE FOR COQ AU VIN

1 bottle of Beaujolais wine or a decent red Burgundy

Carrot, white turnip and a a couple of sticks of celery

Parsley stalks, thyme, bay leaves, garlic, onion & black pepper for marinade

Goose grease

Onion

Mushrooms

Smoked bacon lardons

Brandy

Salt & pepper

Joint the birds, these ones were not specially fattened for the table, but, there was still plenty of eating on them. Then cover with red wine, add a small chopped onion or shallot, some carrot, celery and white turnip along with a few dried bay leaves, a couple of cloves of garlic, fresh thyme and lots of freshly ground black pepper, cover and leave in fridge over night. The carcasses were put aside to make a wonderful stock for soup.

Coq au vin in marinade

The next morning, remove the meat from the marinade, strain the juice and put to one side. Brown the meat in the goose grease, remove from the pan. Brown onions, add lardons and mushrooms and brown them. Remove from pan, add a few tablespoons of brandy to the pan juices and flambé. Add all ingredients including the strained marinade and cook very slowly until the meat is almost falling off the bone, correct seasoning and a wonderful feast awaits you.

Feathers added to the compost heap

Don't waste the feathers, place them onto the compost heap, they will soon break down. Peace now reigns in the yard, no roosters fighting and the remaining hens are relieved they now only have to cope with one rooster. 

Peace reigns in a Kilkenny yard again

Email: kilkennyseakale@gmail.com

Traditional Style Barley, Oat and Offal Pudding

Before the introduction of potatoes in Ireland, people depended on barley and oats for their carbohydrates. We subsequently forgot how versatile these cereals are. So, here is a traditional type pudding that might have been made, in Kilkenny, 400 years ago. In the past, it would have been steamed in a cloth, bowls were not used for steaming foods until the latter half of the nineteenth century. If one was to be a purist, the bacon would not be in rasher form, as the rasher was reputedly developed in Waterford, circa 1820.

Barley, Oat, Pork Liver and Pork Kidney Pudding

RECIPE © Kilkenny Seakale

1 pork kidney roughly diced

1/4 pork liver roughly diced

1/2 pint of milk

1 large onion

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon country butter

2 cups* of barley (cooked in pork stock)

2 cups* of jellied pork stock

2 cups* of coarsely ground barley

1 cup* organic porridge oat flakes

3 free range cooked & chopped bacon rashers

1 heaped teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 grated nutmeg

1/3 teaspoon mixed spice

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chervil

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh spinach

1 tablespoon vinegar

*these cups are slightly smaller than the standard American measure

Barley, Oat & Offal Pudding made with fresh Herbs

Soak the pork liver and kidney in milk for 1 1/2 hours. Rinse, cover with water, bring to boil, then discard water and bring to boil a second time and strain immediately. Chop the cooked meat finely. Sweat the onion, with a bay leaf, in butter. Remove the bay leaf. Place the meat and onion in a bowl, along with the remaining ingredients. Mix well and place in a buttered 1 1/2 litre pudding bowl. Cover and steam for 2 hours. When cool turn out into a plate.

Barley, Oat & Offal Pudding with a tart Sloe Jam Sauce

This makes a surprisingly rich flavoured pudding, delicious when complimented by a tart sloe jam sauce, tasting somewhere between a classic Irish white pudding and a Scottish haggis.

Email: kilkennyseakale@gmail.com