Pawaru-Grahmata

№ 33VII. nodaļa

Cāļu cepets

Poussins stuffed with parsley, braised in butter

  • Serves 4
  • about 1¼ hours
  • Melnraksts · vēl nav izmēģināts

1796Zahlu zeppets.

Modernizētslpp. 291–292 · PDF 305–306
4 porcijas

The book gives no quantities; the amounts below are ours.

Method

6 soļi
  1. Heat the oven to 170 °C. Pat the poussins dry and singe off any stray feathers.
  2. Cut the fat into strips 3–4 mm thick and thread them through the breasts with a larding needle. Without a needle, lay a bacon rasher over each breast and tie it on with string.
  3. Strip the parsley leaves from the thick stalks, chop them coarsely and mix with the soft butter and salt. Push the mixture into the cavities. Season the outside lightly with salt.
  4. Choose a heavy casserole with a lid that holds the birds snugly. Melt the 200 g butter in it over low heat, put in the poussins breast up and pour in the water. The liquid should come at least a third of the way up the birds.
  5. Cover and braise in the oven for 40–50 minutes, basting with the butter every 15 minutes and topping up with a little more butter or water if it gets low. The birds should stay pale gold rather than brown. They are done when the juices run clear and the thickest part of the thigh and the parsley stuffing reach 75 °C.
  6. Lift the poussins onto a warm dish and remove any string. Skim off as much butter as you like from the juices (keep it for cooking) and pour the rest over the birds.

Notes

What the book says vs. what we added

the book first says young chickens are roasted on the spit or in a pan just like capons (07-030 to 07-032), only quicker, and that they must be plucked with more care because the skin tears easily. For a quick version it has them cleaned, larded and stuffed with parsley, then cooked in a pot in enough melted butter to stand above them, with a lid and a few coals on top so they don't brown too much, topping up the butter as it goes. Those who don't want such a fatty sauce may add a little water. The butter for the stuffing, the salt, the oven, the times and all amounts are ours.

The book's butter bath

covering four poussins in butter takes well over 1 kg. We use the book's own alternative, butter with a little water. To try the full version, use clarified butter and keep it barely bubbling; strain the butter afterwards, keep it in the fridge and use it within a week for frying.

Spit or oven

for the plain roast, rub the birds with butter and roast at 200 °C for 40–45 minutes, basting, or on a rotisserie for 45–55 minutes, until the thigh reaches 75 °C.

Pigeons

the book cooks pigeons the same way but without the parsley, and warns that they take a lot of butter. Squab or wood pigeons need 25–35 minutes; braise until the legs are tender and the thigh reaches 75 °C. See also 07-036.

*Cāļi* are young chickens, killed at a few weeks old. Poussins (about 4 weeks old) are the nearest thing sold today; one per person.

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