Episode Transcript
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Speaker (00:05):
Bonjour and B Avenue.
This is fabulously delicious.
The French food podcast, theIt's your ticket to all things
stories behind the dishes thatyear, French food turns
rooted in tradition.
So today, rather than somethingfavorite episode, one I wanted
(00:31):
have missed it the first timesimply feel like revisiting a
In this episode, we return tothe world of the Capon or as I
say, chapon many a timeincorrectly in the episode a
classic Christmas centrepiece inFrance with Emily, widely known
as the real Emily in Paris, it'sa conversation that feels
(00:54):
especially fitting for thefestive season, rich in
tradition, French food cultureand the stories that make
Christmas at the table sospecial.
I'm your host, Andrew Pryor.
Enchanté.
I'm a former MasterChefcalling France home.
From my kitchen to markets,farms and fringe dining tables,
(01:15):
I spend my days cooking, tastingand celebrating the
extraordinary food traditions ofthis country.
And I share them with you, myfabulously delicious audience,
every week.
So if this is your first timeyou've heard it all before, I
Pour yourself a glass of wine.
(01:36):
That's of course, if you're notTear off a chunk of baguette.
Add a smear of some creamylittle saucy song and settle in.
Welcome to Fabulously Delicious.
And so on to today's topic, theMy first question is around how
(02:01):
So is it?
It's spelled c h a p o n. Butthat's not how it's pronounced,
is it?
Well, I think my in-laws sayThey do.
See, we had Camille from FrenchSudan last week, and her
pronunciation is a couple, soshe doesn't pronounce the h. I'm
(02:22):
thinking back.
I think they do, but maybe Ijust invented that, I don't
know.
Well, no, because I thought itBut then I heard other people
Well, in the USA it's calledthe H in the spelling.
Hmm.
Okay, well, let's go withwhichever we'll go with with
(02:43):
that.
Whichever you can.
You'll say what you say and I'llAnd somebody people can leave
what's not right.
Please don't invite people toOh, no. It's okay.
What?
Comments.
What?
So what is a chapel?
So it's basically a concentratedUm, whether chemically or
(03:07):
So they do that before they sortof, um, have any hormonal
changes, and I don't know whythey started.
There's a few different answers.
Um, it was to stop roosters fromcastrated, you can keep them in
Otherwise you can only have oneone enclosed space.
(03:28):
Um, and basically because theyteenage hormone phase, um, the,
which is why people use themthings like that, that you have
Um, so this the meat is more ismore fatty and it's more tender
(03:50):
and, and they grow into a biggerbird.
They're, they're given quite aprepared for, for eating.
So yeah.
And so it's called cap and a capIt is.
See, that's apparently the termfor neutering or castrating a
(04:10):
rooster.
It does make me feel a littlebit uncomfortable talking about
it.
How is the capon different,Um, it's a bit more intense of a
It it still tastes quite sortChickeny.
Um, it's definitely not gamey,or, uh, a pigeon.
(04:35):
Um. It's just a really.
I think it's just a really niceAnd unlike Turkey, it doesn't
So you don't really have thatstill quite a fatty bird.
Um, so you don't really havethat panic about, you know, how
(04:58):
you're gonna cook it and keep itdry.
It doesn't need a lot ofIt's usually cooked at quite a
like you're slow roasting theObviously we eat it at
time you eat it?
I've had it a few other times ofChristmassy type bird.
(05:20):
Yeah, the US would probably doturkey for Christmas, the UK do
geese.
The Aussies do a shrimp on theIt's the French equivalent.
Is it?
It is.
Yeah.
It's a really ChristmassyUm, in fact, I, I think this is
I've never had anything else, socooked for me.
(05:41):
One year we made some quail.
Um, and everyone was a bitSo I think it it is what you're
supposed to serve on Christmas,is it?
Yeah.
I think it's a very traditional,I mean, I had never seen it
I'd never looked for it, but Idefinitely never seen it
anywhere else.
I don't think you'd pick one upat the local butcher in
(06:02):
Brisbane.
Um, and I never I'd never seenSo. I mean, London's very turkey
Um, yeah.
It's not cheap when you say youbutchers in Brisbane.
I remember when we lived in aand the butcher there.
(06:24):
There was ninety eight euros aYeah.
It's not a cheap bird.
Anything up from fifty euros aUh, because it's a big bird,
Yeah.
So usually if you want a littlethree kilos for six to eight
(06:45):
four hundred grams per person.
Um. Yeah it is.
I mean, yeah, it's not a cheapgo all out for Christmas.
I mean, they really try.
And it's their moment to shineIs it like a frog?
Is the bird force fed orOr does it just naturally just
(07:09):
eat a lot because it's beencastrated?
Uh. It's science.
Okay, so in Spain, sometimesThey do have them in Spain.
Um, in France they're not.
It's not.
That's not part of the the planThey get big because they they
don't really stop growing afterthey're castrated.
Um, they keep I mean, obviouslyperiod of time and they get I
(07:33):
chickens are killed quitesort of grow into a big bird.
Yeah.
I mean, so let's be clear, ifvery, you know, sort of, uh,
have had a longer life and havebeing force fed.
(07:55):
I can't speak for all the farms,Um, and I'm sure there are some
that are not doing it in thebest possible way, but generally
it's.
Yeah, it's because they're giventhan being force fed?
(08:18):
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Pryor fabulously.
Com to subscribe now let's makeI often hear people comment that
(09:33):
sometimes the chicken's a bitgamey compared to what they have
at home.
So why is it that we have somany different types here and
varieties here of chicken andpoultry?
Ah, I think those people areSo this is also, um, become a
much bigger discussion in theUK.
(09:55):
Um, so, you know, farms startedhundred Day Chicken and it
well, okay, that doesn't seema, you know, a really a long
chicken farming to to have ahatching until it's being
(10:17):
Uh, so I think it reallyI mean, here you can, I can go
commercial chicken that, youyou get anywhere in Australia,
buy an organic chicken, whichbuy from, you can get an organic
(10:39):
is quite delicate to cookused its muscles.
So it, it feels a lot tougherAnd you have to sort of, you
know, cook it almost like arooster.
Um, and that's because it's usedSo it all really depends on the
If the chicken's just sittinghave a lot of space to move, and
(11:02):
muscles and it's going to be,I don't know about you, but I
chicken in Australia.
We never really had that when IWhereas here you definitely
chicken and then there'll be aAnd it's been corn fed.
Yeah.
I'm not I can't say that Idifference to the taste.
(11:29):
Um, but people do seem to have alike, you know, um, corn fed
To be honest, I'm, you know, IIt's all the same.
Just tastes like chicken.
Back to the coupon you brieflycooking, but yes.
(11:49):
How do you cook a coupon?
So first thing.
Bring it home from the butcher.
Can stay in the fridge for aYou know what the butcher tells
Um, and the best thing to dois let it come up to room
start cooking it.
So don't try and put a reallyIn the oven.
(12:11):
Um, that's not the best way toUh, make sure some will come.
Will be quite authentic whenSo be really clear with your
come with or without, um,Um, so just explain to the
(12:31):
butcher what you're comfortablewith, because a lot of people
really like getting the extrabits because they use it for
sauce.
Um, anyway.
And then it really depends howto put into it.
So, I mean, there's there's noUh, it's really traditional to
stuff it, um, with a mix of, youknow, roasted chestnuts or I
(12:54):
mean, you're usually you alwaysserve it with chestnuts at
Christmas time.
Um, but it's just you can alsoeither have them on the side or
you can can, you know, stuff it,um, with chestnuts, a mix of
sausage meat, maybe with somefoie gras.
Figs. Uh, there's a wholedifferent stuffing recipes.
(13:15):
I am not a huge fan of stuffing.
I tend to roast it, um, empty.
So just with maybe put a lemonand some herbs in there and a
bit of garlic, which is reallynice.
Um, make sure that it's reallyit with fat or with butter, with
Um, whatever you want.
(13:36):
I tend to keep the duck fat fromwhen I'm making duck confit and
just keep that in a jar in thefridge.
And then when you're roastingrub on, um, and use it to do the
It's just really nice.
Yes.
Well, speaking of that, what doyou serve traditionally with a
(13:57):
coupon.
So usually seasonal vegetables.
Um, we always do fine greenWe always do chestnuts.
Uh, and then usually eithersweet potatoes and potatoes and
carrots.
Um, anything you want.
They're not that bad.
My family's not that big onI really like them.
(14:19):
But yeah, I do too.
Yeah, the French don't do theUh, the same dishes.
There's no bread sauce.
Um, there's no YorkshireThey don't have any of that.
And they tend to also be quiteThere's not that sort of last
(14:42):
keeping the bird warm and etc.,serve the juices from the bird,
down or thickened with withIt's it's just sort of served as
Um, which is really nice.
Um, and I see you've got yourbird, you've brought it up to
room temperature.
You've, you know, covered it inYou've seasoned it really well
(15:07):
Um, it's quite good if you cangonna stuff it.
Uh, ideally, you would make surestuffing is already cooked.
Just the health and safetyUm, and that the stuffing is
That's what we were taught.
Um, and everyone has their ownStuffing rules.
(15:31):
Uh, and then that's it.
So one in one sixty oven andThere's two hand the oven at two
the first twenty minutes or theUm, just to make the skin a bit
But I've done it both ways, andEither way, I generally do it
(15:52):
then just do it sort of highAnd that really stops the, you
rest of the chicken doesn't oh,Will you be cooking a champion
Uh, we're going to our in-lawsso we'll definitely be having
one.
Whether whether I'm cooking itor not depends on whether, uh,
(16:16):
someone else will look after thechildren, uh, because they love
to sit on the, um, on thekitchen floor when I'm cooking
and, you know, really get undermy feet.
(16:37):
Before I go, I just wanted tosay a heartfelt thank you for
listening.
Whether you've been for yourfabulously delicious full year
round or you've discovered thepodcasts for the very first time
this Christmas, however, you'recelebrating the festive season
here in France or elsewhere inthe world.
I hope it's filled with goodfew fabulously delicious moments
(17:04):
Maybe there'll be laughter, longdishes made with love.
Thank you for welcoming me intoyour ears and your kitchens this
year.
Joyeux Noel, bon fit, and I'llOr in the next episode of
(17:28):
And that's a wrap for thisIf this was your first time
discovering this episode, I hopeit's given you a deeper
appreciation for Capone and itsspecial place on the French
Christmas table.
And if you've heard it well allcomforting and delicious to
(17:49):
like a favorite festive dishyear after year.
I'd love to hear from you.
Is Capone part of your Christmassomething entirely new to you?
You can slide into my DMs onLet's chat about all things
French food, festive traditions,and what's on your table this
(18:11):
season because, well, foodreally is one of the best ways
to bring people together, don'tyou think?
You enjoyed this episode?
Please consider sharing itfamily, or any food lovers or
and Christmas traditions maybeAnd if you're feeling extra
(18:32):
wonderful way to help more foodThank you so much for listening,
festive time of the year.
Your love of French food andRemember my motto whatever you
Merci beaucoup Zola Noel.
And as always, Bon appetit.
(18:53):
Until next time.
Over.