Capons in the Raleigh/Durham NC area?

[Catstar68]

Does anyone have any processed capons for sale for the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays? I have a friend that is looking for a few. Please PM me if you know any sources.

Thanks!

 

[cassie]

If you go to an upscale grocery store you can get some big roasting chickens. I did that a couple years ago to fix Thanksgiving dinner for my elderly parents. They didn't want a turkey. The chickens were in the ten pound range and they were delicious. Since the advent of the Cornish X meat chicken, there really hasn't been the need for capons.

 

[Catstar68]

I've been told that they taste different - more tender and juicy.

I dunno, it's family tradition for my friend to have capon and he can't find any around here. Up in WI he said they were popular in the German cultural circles.

 

[cassie]

Capons are more tender and juicey than a regular rooster, but I seriously doubt they would be better than a Cornish X roaster. We butcher our Cornish X at about ten to 12 weeks and they dress out in the 11 1/2 to 13 1/2 pound range. We like them much better than turkey. The Cornish X is your standard supermarket chicken. Cornish game hens, fryers, broilers, and roasters are all the same chicken. The difference is the age and size at processing. A capon might have a more intense flavor simply because it is older than a Cornish X roaster of the same size. But it sure wouldn't be any tenderer or juicier. If your friend has his heart set on a capon, he is just going to have to call around. I don't know if anyone caponizes chickens commercially any more. I can tell you this. If he settles for a large Cornish X roasting chicken, he won't be sorry.

 

[Catstar68]

Thanks Cassie.
I know the commercially available cornishX chickens are just fine but whenever you start talking about cultural family traditions...well, it simply must be a capon.

No substitutes. He did in fact find a small grocery in Carrboro that could supply the family.
I just thought I'd enlist the help of the chicken experts to help him out!