Christmas Cockerel, Whole (incl. giblets)

⭐⭐ great taste® 2023

If you’re looking for a wonderful alternative to a whole bronze turkey for your festive feast, but don’t want to veer too far from the familiar bird we all lovingly associate with Christmas, try cockerel, also known as a capon or rooster. Reared for a minimum of 120-days, our free range, slow-grown cockerel has a natural cereal-based diet and unlimited access to the great outdoors. This results in a bird that has a darker, more robust meat than turkey, and is packed with rich flavour.

There is no doubt about it, your slow-grown Christmas cockerel served with all the classic trimmings will be a sensational meal, a stunning centrepiece for any festive feast. You can slow-roast it in the traditional way, or pot-roast your cockerel for increased succulence.

Chef George Ryle inspires:
"If you’re feeling the urge to shake things up even more, then this bird gives you plenty of options. Perhaps 2023 is the year for putting an Italian slant on your festive proceedings. Prepare a stuffing of pork and veal mince, diced mortadella, chopped rosemary, nutmeg and a healthy mound of grated parmesan. Stuff the cavity of the bird and then lay it in a roasting tray surrounded with peeled chestnuts. Add a couple of glasses of Marsala and the same amount of chicken stock. Roast for 2-3 hours at 160°C. Serve with lentils braised in red wine and stock, roasted pumpkin and kale, or cavolo nero sautéed with garlic. After resting the bird, the roasting tray will be full of the most delicious liquid – thicken it with a little flour for a gravy to rival all others."

great taste® commented:
"Visually impactful, the judges felt the meat from this cockerel exhibited a good firm texture that spoke of being reared well. With great depth of flavour there's no mistaking this for average supermarket poultry.

...absolutely loved the depth of flavour from this majestic bird. The meat was super juicy and succulent, even on the breast, and the skin was incredibly moreish. They felt it couldn't be improved upon!

This is a handsome bird with beautiful conformation, evenly bronzed all over. We were delighted by the sweet, full flavour of the white meat and the brown, too, more than fulfils expectation. If flavour can evidence a long and happy life and great husbandry, this certainly appears to do so...we certainly can't fault the flavour, which also has remarkable length.

This is a very fine bird which looks incredibly enticing. The texture is firm in both the breast and leg, and the skin is thick and crisp..."