Tee hee.

See this link. We're not that wimpy!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Capons in England!

In the US and the UK, most male chicks are killed immediately after hatching, but you might be able to get one from a small farm.

Islay, I ran across a Humane Society report critical of caponizing, and that report made the statement that you can't do that in the UK. And an entry at in an online food encyclopedia says that what is sold as capon in the UK are just older chickens. As with anything on the Internet, you can take that with a grain of salt. (And, being a big juicy chicken, a little freshly ground white pepper, some butter and some fresh tarragon as well.)

Still, even if the procedure causes some pain--is it less humane to do that procedure and allow the male chick to grow to maturity nice and fat for several weeks, or to dispatch it within a day or two of hatching because it's a male? The males of a lot of varieties of livestock are neutered for a number of reasons, while leaving just enough intact males to propagate the species.

Ladies, don't get any ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: food encyclopedia entry on capon

Ah, the internet. Yes, you can get a "proper" capon all over europe. I usually have one or a poularde at christmas. We much prefer them to turkey.
The English are more sqeamish about things like foie gras but it's not illegal. Many brits also don't eat veal because of the way the animals are treated. In France, we eat it all, rightly or wrongly. I can't imagine christmas here without foie gras.

"Capons are illegal in the UK. What are sold as Capons in the UK are actually just older, larger chickens.
(Copyright 2010 Practically Edible. All rights reserved and enforced.)"

"Yes, you can get a "proper" capon all over europe."

Are you disagreeing with the Food Encyclopedia, Islay?

Jim

If I'm reading that correctly, Jim, there's no disagreement; 'europe' being the Continent (where the French and Italians have no qualms about neutering male chickens) as opposed to the UK.

At any rate, does anyone know of a source for poularde in the US?

Jim, I'm just telling you that you can buy a legal capon in the UK and in continetal europe. By the way, the UK is part of europe! Same laws apply.
It is a myth that they are illegal.

Same as it was stated by some website over your end that i was referred to that Bastille day here is the equivalent of your independence day. It isn't. France was never dependent! The internet is full of rubbish!
Beware of what you read!

"The internet is full of rubbish! Beware of what you read!"

I'm aware of that. It's why I am challenging your "facts". LOL!

BTW, isn't Europe supposed to be capitalized?

Are all European countries governed by the exact same set of laws? I don't think so. I know they operate under the laws of the EU, but the countries still have a substantial degree of sovereignty and have their own separate governments and legal systems. Not everything is subsumed by the EU. I don't know about capons. :-) I want more information before I'm convinced that is a myth.

Didn't both France and the American colonies free themselves of the rule of monarchies during the same historical era? Seems quite similar to me. We have a statue in New York harbor, which was a gift of the French people, celebrating our independence. That gift was highly symbolic and would not have happened if not for the shared history of the two countries. There is far more to that story than can be found by parsing the word "independence".

And arley, aren't the British Isles, as well as the Continent, part of Europe?

Jim

Yes, it's part of Europe. However, sometimes the UK refers to itself as an entity apart. The most famous example of this is the (possibly apocryphal) headline "Fog in Channel--Europe Cut Off". That's in the sense that the word 'Europe' can be used to refer to the Continent.

In the BBC story at the link, they most certainly are drawing a distinction between the two entities.

Here is a link that might be useful: bbc story

Good reply, arley.

Jim

Well, I can't find a US source for poulardes. Guess capons will have to do. Anybody out there with access to both capons and poulardes: is there a big difference between the two? Can they be used interchangeably? I certainly do like the richness of capon and have often cooked it for holidays instead of turkey. It has the fullness of flavor of an older bird, but is still tender.

I wonder how difficult it is to spay the young chicken and raise it to maturity, and if there would be a big enough market to make it worthwhile for US producers to get into that field. (Remember, it was only a decade or so ago that you couldn't find free range chickens in the US--everything was Perdue and Tyson.) Thomas Keller has poularde on some of his menus, but I don't know where he gets them.

I have read 'La Bonne Cuisine de Madame E. St.Ange' (a book that Julia Child cited as an influence on her cooking) and some of the recipes call for 'a good fat hen'--I assume that means poularde rather than an old stewing hen.

At any rate, sounds like I'm gonna have to go to France if I want some poularde.

Gee, that sounds sort of suggestive.

I have the perfect solutions, arley. We recruit Annie to raise a flock of poulardes for the exclusive use of CF members. I know she can do it. She will not be raising ducks this year and she hates to have time on her hands.

How about it Annie?

Jim

Just come on over, Arley! You can stay here!

Jim, it's not compllicated at all.
America was a colony and didn't want to be so fougght against it and became independant.
France was NEVER a colony, jusy cut off the king's head and carried on as a Republic.

Islay, thanks for the invite. I grew up in Louisiana, the only US state which was once a French colony. Its state constitution is based on the Napoleonic Code, so there are some oddball laws about inheritance and other items which make it different from the other 49 states.

For instance, there are some do-it-yourself legal software products for making your own wills, contracts, etc. Virtually all of them say 'Not valid in Louisiana'.

And if Napoleon hadn't gotten so overextended he probably wouldn't have sold the Louisiana Purchase to Jefferson for such a bargain price, and people from New Orleans to Montana would be speaking French today.

Despite its oddities (some might say Gallic hauteur) it was a great place to grow up if you like good food.

Sorry islay_corbel, but apparently you ARE that wimpy! ;-) Email from Manor Farm Game:

Caponisation, i.e. the castration of male cockerels with hot wires was rightly banned in the UK I think in the sixties. The capons we sell are a large breed of chicken and the term capon has continued to be used in this country to distinguish between the traditional roasting chicken which weighs anything from 1.5 - 2.5 kgs and the larger breed which naturally weigh between 3 - 4.5 kgs.

No, we do not castrate our chickens. I believe but am not certain that the traditional capon can still be bought in other parts of Europe.

Oh, well... here I am whimpering away hahaha. I suppose I've been away from England for too long! I'll just carry on eating my french one. Yum!