I’m having a last minute panic, planning tomorrow morning cooking times - friends coming for Christmas lunch.
Help please - I’ve a 3 kilo capon which I’m planning to stuff at the neck end - roughly 1kilo of stuffing. How long should I cook the bird? I thought it needed to be longer if it’s stuffed but I can’t find a definitive answer.
Also at what temperature(s)?
Thanks for any advice.
Marmiton says 2 hours for a stuffed 3kg one, 180 degrees. I’d rest it as well.
We always worked on 30mins per pound weight total and then an extra 30mins on top. Convert to kilos if you don’t have imperial reading scales (most these days have both). Don’t cook on too high a heat or else the inside won’t be done and the outside burned, cover with foil to start for a while and then take off.
I think that would work at 150 degrees, otherwise to me would end up with a biscuit.
And then comes the question, do you roast on a rack or in a tray or dish?
Depends whats being roasted. Turkey upside/breast down in a tray, pork on a rack, beef in a tray upright resting on the ribs.
Thanks to those of you who offered suggestions for cooking times. Interestingly that was my problem and why I asked - I found wildly differing views on the internet as to how long it should take.
My experience? It went in at 10:30 and came out at 2:00pm!!!
I have a large bottle gas cooker which struggles to go much above 200C. So I set it to max, and put the capon (neck stuffed) in upside down, covered in aluminium foil. At 11:00 ish I turned it back up the right way, put bacon rashers all across the breast and legs and wrapped it in the foil again and turned the gas way down. Unfortunately about 12:00ish I discovered I’d managed at some point to let the gas go out! So gas back on, this time about middle-ish temperature (don’t ask me what because none of the numbers are readable anymore). Our guests arrived at 1:00 with starters and I warned them the second course could be a bit delayed! At 1:45 I stuck a fork into a leg and it was still running a bit pink, so I whacked the temperature back up to maximum for another 15 minutes while I heated up a tiny bit of leftover borscht OH had made for Christmas Eve and gave them an “amuse-bouche” while he made the gravy and I cooked the veg. Capon came out at 2:00 to rest and by the time I came to carve it (2:15 ish I guess) the legs came easily away from the body (always a good sign)
Thank heavens Christmas Day lunch is one of those occasions where it takes as long as it takes.
Hope you all had (are having) a good one!
Amazing - we’ve had the same problem with the gas ‘running out’ … in fact it seems when the gas goes down to about 20%, it is unable to keep the temperature up and the telling sign is when you then want to use the hob… so like you a considerable delay. The first time this happened, the replacement gas bottle was frozen!!! It was a very long wait at the table … I can tell you. That was the same time, that the oven handle came away in my hand…only took 2 years to find a replacement.
That must have been “fun”.
We keep our butane gas bottles indoors. I understand propane can be kept outside, but don’t use it.
We had bought in replacement bottles the day before - clearly not enough time to thaw out.
Won’t make that mistake again.
We always use propane for our gas hob as the bottles are positioned outside.