Have you tried roast rooster? This dish is actually a roast cockerel and it's very, very tasty!
Simply roasted with lemon and thyme on a bed of vegetables, this dish allows the flavour of the meat to shine through. The vegetables make a delicious gravy, which is the perfect way to celebrate this special bird.
Perfect for a celebration meal, this is a dish that you have to try.
Enjoy.
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❤️ Why you will love this recipe
- Delicious as an alternative to turkey for feeding a crowd at Christmas or Easter.
- Moist meat with a slightly stronger flavour than chicken.
- Fabulous gravy!
- Really east to cook and serve.
Well, cooking a roast rooster was a first for me! Chicken is my husband's favourite roast, with turkey and other birds a close second. So, when I saw that I could get a free range cockerel for Easter, it had to be done.
Many years ago a cockerel or rooster required long slow cooking, as the bird was typically old and tough. Birds that were also castrated or gelded at a young age were referred to as capons. This practice aimed to reduce their gamey flavour and to produce a fattier and more tender bird. However, this practice is now illegal, but male birds are still often referred to as capons.
It's now possible to buy birds arounds 3 kilos and up to about 7 kilos, so very much the size of a turkey, if you are feeding a large crowd, which makes it great for buffets, Christmas and Easter if you fancy a change.
Roast rooster, or capon or cockerel, is also simple to cook and keeps really moist and juicy. As it is a fresh bird, and not mass produced, the cooking time is less than with a standard chicken and the meat has a lot of natural flavour without a strong gamey taste.
I hope you enjoy it.
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🥘 Ingredients
A note on some of the ingredients.
- Rooster - available online or through good butchers. I bought this from Ocado which is supplied by Packington.
- Streaky bacon - also known as belly bacon.
- White wine - a medium dry wine that you would drink with the meal. Replace with more stock if you prefer.
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post.
🍽 Equipment
- Large deep roasting dish
- Wooden spoon
- Sharp knife
- Foil
- Potato masher or immersion blender
🔪 Instructions
Bring the cockerel to room temperature by taking it out of the fridge an hour before cooking.
Peel and roughly chop the celery and onion.
Add the chopped vegetables to the roasting pan with the thyme.
Remove any lumps of fat from inside the cavity and pat dry with paper towel.
Rub the butter all over the bird and season with salt and pepper.
Arrange the streaky bacon over the breast.
Cut the lemon in half and place it inside the body cavity.
Place the cockerel on the vegetables.
⏲️ Cooking Time
Cover the dish with foil
Preheat the oven to 190 C / 375 F / 170 FAN / Gas 5 and roast for 15 - 20 minutes per 450 grams.
Start with 15 minutes per 450 grams.
Halfway through the roasting time remove the foil and set the bacon aside to serve later.
Drain off any excess fat and return the bird to the oven, basting regularly.
At the end of cooking time test if the bird is cooked by inserting a skewer in the thickest part of the thigh to make sure that juices are running clear.
The breast and thigh need to register more than 74 degrees centigrade to be safe. Return the bird to the oven for 10 minutes and check again if required.
When the bird is cooked, place in a warm place and cover with the foil to rest for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile make the gravy. Drain off the remaining fat from the roasting tin except for about a tablespoon and remove the thyme.
Add the wine to the dish over a medium heat and let it bubble for a minute while scraping any residue from the bottom of the tin.
Stir in the flour to the juices and cook for a minute.
Pour in the hot chicken stock and use the potato masher to blend the vegetables into the gravy.
Bring to a boil to thicken.
💭 Top Tip
- Alternatively, transfer the stock and vegetables to a saucepan and use an immersion blender.
Carve the rooster by removing the legs and cutting the leg from the thigh. Remove the breast and cut into thick slices across each breast.
Serve with the bacon and gravy on the side.
🥗 Serve with
- Leeks in White Sauce
- Honey Roast Carrots and Parsnips
- Fried Cabbage with Bacon
- Roast Savoy Cabbage
- Whole Baked Cauliflower Cheese
- Roasted Green Beans and Carrots
- Roasted Long Stem Broccoli
- Roasted Swede Chips
- Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Honey Roast Chantenay Carrots
- Parmentier Potatoes
🥙 Substitutions
- Wine - use more stock.
- Cockerel - use chicken or turkey.
- Celery - use celeriac.
🍣 Storage
- Refrigerator - cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- Freezer - remove the meat from the carcase, wrap well and freeze for up to 6 months. If you have gravy left, freeze in portions with the gravy.
- To reheat - use in pasta dishes, stir fries or reheat the roast rooster and gravy in the oven, covered with foil.
🍱 Prepare in Advance
- Prepare the vegetables beforehand and store in a bag in the fridge.
More roast dishes
- Roast Mutton
- Stuffed Breast of Lamb
- Roast Saddle of Lamb
- Bone in Ribeye
- Roast Venison Haunch
- Roast Rib of Beef
- Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder
- Spatchcock Duck
- Roast Pigeon
- Pork Rack Roast
- Slow Roast Belly Pork
- Roast Partridge
📋 Recipe
Roast Rooster with Pan Gravy
Equipment
- Large deep roasting dish
- Wooden spoon
- Sharp knife
- oven proof dish
- Foil
- Potato masher
Ingredients
- 3 kg free range cockerel
- 6 slices streaky bacon
- 2 sticks celery
- 1 onion
- 1 lemon
- 10 g fresh thyme
- 500 ml chicken stock
- 100 ml white wine
- 1 tablespoon flour
- ½ teaspoon salt flaked sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper freshly ground black pepper
- 20 g butter softened
Instructions
- Bring the cockerel to room temperature by taking it out of the fridge an hour before cooking.
- Peel and roughly chop the celery and onion.
- Add the chopped vegetables to the roasting pan with the thyme and place the cockerel on the top.
- Remove any lumps of fat from inside the cavity and pat dry with paper towel.
- Rub the butter all over the bird and season with salt and pepper.
- Arrange the streaky bacon over the breast.
- Cut the lemon in half and place it inside the body cavity.
- Cover the dish with foil
- Preheat the oven to 190 C / 375 F / 170 FAN / Gas 5 and roast for 20 minutes per 450g.
- Halfway through the roasting time remove the foil and set the bacon aside to serve later.
- Drain off any excess fat and return the bird to the oven, basting regularly.
- At the end of cooking time test if the bird is cooked by inserting a skewer in the thickest part of the thigh to make sure that juices are running clear.
- The breast and thigh need to register more than 74 degrees centigrade to be safe. Return the bird to the oven for 10 minutes and check again if required.
- When the bird is cooked, place in a warm place and cover with the foil to rest for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile make the gravy. Drain off the remaining fat from the roasting tin except for about a tablespoon and remove the thyme.
- Add the wine to the dish over a medium heat and let it bubble for a minute while scraping any residue from the bottom of the tin.
- Stir in the flour to the juices and cook for a minute.
- Pour in the hot chicken stock and use the potato masher to blend the vegetables into the gravy.
- Bring to a boil to thicken.
- Carve the rooster by removing the legs and cutting the leg from the thigh. Remove the breast and cut into thick slices across each breast.
- Serve with the bacon and gravy on the side.
Notes
Disclaimer: The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Detailed instructions for this recipe, including step by step photographs, hints and tips, can be found in the main article
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🍲Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using gas.
Do you have a question or did you make the recipe?
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Amanda
So tasty and easy to cook.