Old Saveur Magazine Capon Article?

[operaflute]

Hello E-Gulleters!

I'm fixated on finding an old Saveur mag recipe and article that included a capon recipe, mostly for sentimental reasons. It's NOT the Oct 2007 one that shows up on a search on saveur.com, but one from some years earlier. (late 1990's/early 2000's?)  Just narrowing it down to an issue number might help.   Maaaaybe it was Issue 39 (based on the cover) but I can't be sure.

I saw ONE reference to it with an outdated broken link here, but that's all I've got. Serves me right for not hanging on to those old magazines...

Anyone?

Thank you!

 

[ElsieD]

I cook a capon every year at Christmas.  What was so unusual about that recipe?

[operaflute]

I don't remember, actually, and possibly nothing at all! I have always wanted to roast a capon for the holidays, and that old article is what started it all. I'm finally making one, and, while I can certainly cook it without the recipe, I am dying to read the article that put that bee in my bonnet in the first place.  Silly, I know...

 

[Anna N]

 How about this. 
 

go to www.recipelink.com

 

then search for Chapon. 

Edited November 23, 2020 by Anna N
I could not get the link to work (log)

[operaflute]

Goodness! That must be it! So my suspicion that it is Issue No 39 is correct. That's a good start to finding the actual article!!
Thank you!

(Here's the link you shared, corrected.  Turns out it IS an interesting recipe after all.)
https://www.recipelink.com/msgbrd/board_0/2004/DEC/71802.html

Paula

Edited November 24, 2020 by operaflute
Adding corrected link (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Your quest reminds me of Sunday lunches my mother used to put on.    She didn't attend a church, but her grown family would gather after their assorted services.    My closest friend, Jewish, would attend Presbyterian services with me, brothers married to Roman Catholic and Episcopalian women, assorted kids, sat around our table for roast capon and trimmings.    My friend's mother phoned, after a handful of these meals, begging my mother for her roast chicken recipe that her daughter was demanding.    Was the fowl that great or was the exuberant comaraderie the seasoning?

[operaflute]

Yes! I'd guess it's rare that someone is furiously hunting down an old culinary magazine not for a recipe, but for the accompanying article!

[weinoo]

Maybe...

Quote

 

CAPON COQ AU VIN

1 6-pound capon, cut into 10 pieces

2 large yellow onions, peeled and chopped

3 shallots, peeled and chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

3 large cloves garlic, peeled

Bouquet garni (bundle of herbs: parsley, thyme, bay leaf, pepper corns)

1-1/2 bottles good, rich red burgundy or California pinot noir

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup good cognac

1-1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

6 ounces salt pork, diced

1 pound small white mushrooms, cut into quarters

Put chicken, onions, shallots, garlic and bouquet garni in a large bowl and add wine. Mix all ingredients well, then cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Remove chicken from marinade, reserving marinade, and dry well on paper towels. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large heavy pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding pan, add chicken and brown on all sides, turning as pieces brown, about 15 minutes in all. Remove pieces as done and set aside.

Add flour to the pan and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Return chicken to pan and add cognac. Remove pan from heat and carefully ignite cognac with kitchen match, keeping pan lid nearby to extinguish flames if necessary.

Return pan to stove top, add marinade, and bring to a boil over high heat, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until chicken is tender, about 1-1/2 hours.

Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Strain sauce through a sieve, discard solids and return sauce to pan. Put cocoa in a small mixing bowl and whisk in 1/2 cup of strained sauce, whisking until smooth.

Stir cocoa mixture into pan, then reduce sauce over medium heat to about 4 cups, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce heat to low and return chicken to pan.

Meanwhile, sauté salt pork in a skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes, then remove from skillet with a slotted spoon and add to chicken.

Add mushrooms to the same skillet and sauté in salt pork fat until golden, about 10 minutes. Drain and add mushrooms to chicken, stirring them in gently.

Serve 6 or more.

 

 

You might be able to find the article in this book (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)...

 

[BetD]

I have the copy... the recipe is in a rather long article about Bordeaux and it is indeed number 39. Perhaps I can scan for you?

[operaflute]

Oh my, that would be WONDERFUL!! Can you send a pdf via DM here?  (It's actually the whole article I'm after.)

eGullet FOR THE WIN!

 

Edited November 24, 2020 by operaflute (log)