Boiled Capon with Sausage Stuffing and Celery Sauce
Ingredients
1 8-pound capon
1 pound Champagne sausage
cut into 1-inch lengths (page 87)
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon
dried & crumbled
3 carrots, roughly chopped
1 onion, halved and stuck with 2 cloves
16 celery stalks with leaves,
each cut into 5 or 6 pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter,
room temperature
2 tablespoons white flour
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions
Remove any excess fat and skin and the giblets
from the capon
Loosely stuff the capon with the
sausage meat, then truss it
Place the capon in a
large pot, scatter the giblets, bay leaf, thyme,
carrots, and onion around it, then cover it with
cold water
Turn the heat to high, bring the
water to a boil, then reduce heat to low
Simmer
the pot, covered, for 2 hours, adding the celery
after 1-1/2 hours.
Just before the capon is finished cooking, knead
together the butter and flour to make a roux and
set it aside
Remove the capon and all the celery
from the stock
Puree the celery in a food
processor or blender
Put the celery puree and
two cups of strained capon stock into a small
saucepan and turn heat to low
Bring the puree
just to a simmer, then stir in the roux
Simmer,
stirring often, for another 5 minutes
Stir in the
cream, salt, and pepper
Simmer for 10 more
minutes, stirring often.
While the sauce is simmering for the last 10
minutes, carve the capon
Stir the lemon juice
into the sauce and immediately remove it from
the heat
Arrange the capon, sausage stuffing,
carrots and onions on a large platter and serve
with the sauce in a sauceboat on the side.
