Pity the Poussin

Vegetarians avert your eyes....

Then again, carnivores draw the line somewhere too. Even though most of them eat lamb, they are outraged by veal (baby sheep, baby cow, what's the difference?). Since poussins, aka baby chicken, is a relative novelty in South Africa I've no idea what the ethical line is wrt cooking them. Me? I love them. They're adorable and succulent and a whole chicken on a plate looks great. I used to eat them all the time when I lived in London with my ex. (I still regret not shoving one up his ass. Then again, there was no space, what with the sun shining out of it and all.)

So - if you're a carnivore that draws the line at looking at naked chicks, best you avert your eyes too...

The reason for the poussins is a special dinner for my parents for our annual I Love You Day. This day was created between my mom and myself way back in my turbulent teenage years when hatred was the order of the day. She said there should be at least ONE day a year that I didn't hate her. I chose 21 June - the shortest day of the year. What a bitch... (Even so, the sentiment disappeared but the celebration stayed).

The reason for 7 poussins for 3 people is, of course, my coocoocookness. You see, several months ago I discovered frozen poussins at Checkers so I pounced and kept them for that special dinner. But recently, they've upgraded to occasionally having fresh poussins. So I defrosted the frozen ones but also had to buy the fresh ones so I could see how they compared. I chose two recipes - Coq au Vin for the frozen (slow and steady to overcome cryogenic issues) and Old Fashioned Roast for the fresh (to bring out the best).

POUSSINS ROASTED IN LEMON & THYME WITH SPINACH STUFFING BALLS

 

For the Balls:

600g spinach (ish - I used 2 x 300g bags but it's flexible)

1/2c parmesan (for this, those cheapo packets will work fine)

100 g breadcrumbs

2 egg yolks

Mix the above together with s&p and form into golf balls. 

For the Chicken:

I had 4 poussins. Semi-melt a cup of butter, add s&p and mix with 5ish cloves of garlic & some chopped parsley. (Dried will do – to me parsley is just for pretty). Tear off a sheet of foil big enough to cover a poussin, put him in the middle and rub all over with the butter mixture. Add some thyme, sage & a few slices of lemon. Drizzle with olive oil and scrunch the foil together into a teardrop shape, leaving the top slightly open for steaming.

Heat the oven to 220C. Put all the poussins in a roasting tray and add 1c water. Roast for 15 minutes. Turn heat down to 180C and roast for another 15 minutes. Add the stuffing balls then roast for another 15 minutes. Lose the foil, turn over the balls, drizzle some more olive oil and roast for another 15 minutes.

I served them with roast potatoes and pumpkin. (Btw, I boiled my pumpkin in water and a bit of honey, then added cinnamon, black pepper & breadcrumbs to give it bulk).

COQ AU VIN

 

3 poussins

20 baby onions 

20 mushrooms

1/2 pack bacon cut up

1/2c brandy

500ml red wine

500ml beef stock

Bouquet garni

3 cloves garlic

Fry onions, bacon & mushrooms on high to get a bit of colour. Remove. Roll poussins in flour and fry on high to get colour. Add brandy and set alight. I did it twice. Just cause it's pretty and I have a deep-seated pyrotechnic/arsonistic fetish. 

Add the wine, the stock, the bouquet, garlic, 1T brown sugar and s&p. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for an hour. Add the onion/bacon mix and cook for a further 30 minutes. Remove everything but the sauce and boil down to reduce a bit. Thicken with maizena/flour. Combine everything and serve.

My parents left the next day with full bellies and 3 days' worth of leftovers. At the end of the day both dishes were exceptionally tender and succulent, (sorry vegetarians and line-drawing carnivores, but that's why we eat the young ones). The final verdict however, surprisingly, was that the defrosted poussin beat out the fresh poussin. It essentially had the same amount and time of heat exposure. But the old ex-frozen meat that I expected to be tough was more tender than the fresh juicy meat. 

Which brings us full circle to I Love You Day, today. 

Turns out that a young poussin can be a bit of a tough bitch, who limits her love for her mother to the shortest day of the year. But an old, cold poussin is capable of forgiving the times it was frozen out and is able to turn soft and tender. All it needs is a little bit of warmth. 

xx

J