Capón de Vilalba Relleno

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large roasting tin, at least 40 by 30cm
• •Large heavy frying pan
• •Instant-read or probe thermometer
• •Kitchen twine or poultry skewers
• •Fine sieve
• •Carving knife and sturdy board

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the capon

   Pat the capon dry inside and out. Rub it with 23g of the salt and 2g of the pepper, working some into the cavity and around the joints. For the best skin, set it uncovered on a tray in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. If you're cooking the same day, give it 45 minutes in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling. Don't rinse it.

   Check the cavity for the neck and giblet packet before seasoning. Keep the liver for the stuffing if it is fresh and clean; save the remaining giblets for stock.
2. 2

   Build the stuffing

   Combine the prunes and raisins with 40ml of the brandy and leave them for 20 minutes. Soak the torn bread in the milk. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, shaking the pan until they are pale gold, then remove them. Add the olive oil and pork belly to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add the diced onion, lower the heat and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until dark gold and sweet. Stir in the two minced garlic cloves, the liver if using, and the minced pork. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes, breaking up the pork, until no pink remains.

3. 3

   Finish the filling

   Take the pork mixture off the heat and stir in the soaked fruit with its brandy, the chestnuts, apple and pine nuts. Spread it on a wide tray and let it cool for no longer than 30 minutes. Fold in the milk-soaked bread, beaten egg, parsley, the remaining 7g salt and 2g pepper. The filling should hold together when pressed but remain loose, with distinct pieces of chestnut and fruit.

4. 4

   Fill and truss

   Heat the oven to 170°C conventional or 150°C fan, with a rack in the lower-middle position. Spoon the cooled filling into the neck and body cavities without pressing it down, leaving roughly one-quarter of the space empty. Secure the openings with skewers or kitchen twine, tie the legs loosely together and tuck the wing tips beneath the bird. Put any filling that does not fit into a lightly greased baking dish and refrigerate it until the final part of roasting.

   Stuff the capon only when the oven is ready. A raw stuffed bird should not sit waiting on the counter or spend the night in the refrigerator.
5. 5

   Start the slow roast

   Scatter the onion wedges, four crushed garlic cloves and bay leaves across a large roasting tin. Set the capon breast-side up on the onions. Rub 50g of the softened lard over the legs, breast and wings. Pour the wine, remaining 80ml brandy and 150ml stock around the bird, not over it. Smear the remaining 10g lard on a sheet of baking parchment, lay it over the breast, and cover the bird loosely with foil. Roast for 1 hour.

6. 6

   Baste and brown

   After the first hour, spoon the pan juices generously over the legs and breast, then replace the covering. Baste again every 30 minutes. If the bottom of the tin begins to dry, add the remaining stock in 50ml portions. After 2 hours 30 minutes, remove the foil and parchment, baste once more, and raise the oven to 200°C conventional or 180°C fan. Roast uncovered for another 30 to 60 minutes, giving the skin its final baste about 20 minutes before the end so it has time to turn crisp and burnished.

   Bake the reserved stuffing during the final 40 minutes. Cover it for the first 25 minutes, uncover it for the last 15, and make sure its centre also reaches 74°C.
7. 7

   Check and rest

   Begin checking the capon after 3 hours in all. Insert a thermometer into the centre of the stuffing and then into the deepest part of the thigh without touching bone. Both must reach 74°C; check the thickest part of the breast as well. If the skin is ready before the centre is safe, cover it loosely with foil and return the oven to 170°C. Transfer the finished capon to a platter, cover it loosely and rest for 30 minutes. The rest keeps the juices in the meat instead of on the carving board.

8. 8

   Make the pan sauce

   Discard the bay leaves and spoon excess fat from the roasting tin, leaving about 30ml behind. Scrape the onions, garlic and browned juices into a saucepan with the remaining liquid. Press the roasted garlic from its skins, simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, then pass everything through a fine sieve, pressing on the onions. Aim for about 350ml of glossy sauce. If it tastes too strong, loosen it with a little water; if it is thin, reduce it briefly.

9. 9

   Carve and serve

   Remove the twine and spoon the cavity stuffing into a warm serving bowl before carving the bird. Take off the legs at the joints, separate the thighs and drumsticks, then remove each breast in one piece and cut it across into thick slices. Give every plate some breast or leg meat, a spoonful of the chestnut and fruit filling, and enough pan sauce to gloss it. Tal como se hace allí, set the rest in the middle of the table and let the family reach.

Chef Tips

• •A genuine Capón de Vilalba is the bird to buy when you can find one. Otherwise choose a free-range capon of the same weight with pale, well-covered flesh and visible fat beneath the skin. A lean supermarket chicken cannot give the same richness, however carefully you roast it.
• •If capon is unavailable, use a 3 to 3.5kg poularde or large free-range roasting chicken. Keep the breast covered for the first two-thirds of cooking and begin checking after 2 hours 15 minutes. The flavour will be lighter and the meat less marbled, but the stuffing and method still hold.
• •Fresh December chestnuts are excellent if you roast or boil and peel them first. Vacuum-packed cooked chestnuts are a sound shortcut and cost the dish nothing. Don't use sweetened chestnut purée; that belongs elsewhere.
• •Use dry grape brandy, not a sweet or flavoured liqueur. Godello has enough body for the roasting tin and the table, while a light Galician Mencía suits the pork, chestnuts and darker leg meat.
• •Pésalo, no lo adivines. Bird size changes the clock, so write down its weight and trust the thermometer. Colour alone cannot tell you whether the stuffing at the centre is safe.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours. Carved meat and stuffing keep for 3 days in covered containers; reheat them with a spoonful of sauce until the centre reaches 74°C.

Advance Preparation

• •Salt the capon 12 to 24 hours ahead and leave it uncovered in the refrigerator. This seasons the thick meat evenly and dries the surface so the skin browns properly.
• •The cooked pork, onion, fruit and chestnut base can be prepared one day ahead and chilled promptly. Add the soaked bread, egg and parsley shortly before stuffing the bird.
• •Never refrigerate the raw capon already stuffed. Fill it only when the oven is hot, then put it straight in to roast.
• •The pan sauce can be strained while the bird rests. Keep it barely warm and loosen it with a spoonful of water if it thickens before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)