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Cockerel Forest Cacciatore by David Dellai & Alex Tintori
Serves
4
Prep
20 mins
Cooking
160 mins
Cacciatore is Italian for hunter and pollo alla cacciatore is chicken hunter style. It’s a dish made everyday in Italy and traditionally done with the firmer, stronger flavoured cockerel. Chef David Dellai and Chef Alex Tintori added a few flavours of the forest to this special version.
Ingredients
2 Aurum Poultry Co. Fook Wong cockerels SHOP NOW
Porcini Sauce
- 50 gm dried porcini, chopped
- 1.25 l brown chicken stock
- 25 gm wakame or dried nori
Farce
- 40 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped onions
- 75 gm button mushroom, sliced
- 1 teaspoon salted capers, rinsed and drained
- 15 g grated parmesan
- Salt and pepper to taste
Brine
- 100g salt
- few sprigs rosemary
- 25g butter to fry
- olive oil to fry
Method
Part 1: Prepare Porcini Sauce
Step 1: Soak Porcini
- Place porcini in a bowl and cover well with cold water.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Step 2: Drain Porcini and Make Broth
- The next day, drain the porcini liquid into a large pot.
- Reserve half of the porcini for the farce.
- Add the remaining porcini to the pot with brown chicken stock and wakame.
- Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for several hours until the liquid reduces to about a cup.
Step 3: Make the Brine
- In a small pot over high heat, combine salt and rosemary with 1 litre of water.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Part 2: Prepare Cockerel Legs
Step 4: Prepare Cockerel Legs
- Remove the legs, head, and neck from the cockerel.
- Remove the thighs with a sharp knife cutting through the thigh joint, being careful not to cut into the skin of the breast.
- Bone out the legs by laying them skin down and slicing along the length of the thigh and drumstick bones.
- Using the tip of the knife cut the flesh away from the bone and joints. Do not cut the skin.
- Remove the bones, flatten the legs out by pressing down with the heel of your palm then brine the flesh for 20 minutes in the brine.
- Drain the legs and lay out on plastic film skin side down. Wrap the legs tightly in a cylinder shape.
- Sous vide at 65°C for 2 hours.
- Alternatively, double-wrap the legs in plastic film and gently cook over a very low flame for 40 minutes. Remove and cool in an ice bath.
Part 3: Make Farce and Stuff Cockerel Breasts
Step 5: Prepare Farce
- Heat extra virgin olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Sauté onions for five minutes or until translucent.
- Add mushrooms and the remaining porcini, and cook for 5-10 minutes until they have released their liquid and it has begun to be reabsorbed.
- Place in a small blender with capers and parmesan. Blitz into a paste, but not a puree.
- Season to taste.
- Using a spatula remove the paste and place it in a piping bag. Set aside.
Step 6: Stuff Cockerel Breasts
- Remove the wings and wishbone from the cockerel breasts.
- Using your finger gently lift the skin from the breast meat.
- Using the piping bag of farce, put the stuffing under the breast.
- Place the cockerel breasts in a roasting tray and let them set for an hour in the fridge, uncovered.
Part 4: Roast Cockerel and Serve
Step 7: Roast Cockerel and Finish Dish
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan.
- Make sure there is space between the cockerels and place them in the oven.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes.
- While breasts are roasting, remove the legs from the cling film and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Brown with oil and butter in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
- Reheat the porcini sauce.
- Once breasts are roasted, remove them and let them rest for 5 minutes.
- Carefully carve the breasts off the frame while it’s still hot. Remove the breast of the main frame of the cockerel, ensuring not to damage the skin.
- Carve the breasts and leg meat into attractive portions.
- Serve with sautéed spinach, dried black olives, and finish with the porcini sauce.
Enjoy your delicious Cockerel Forest Cacciatore!
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