[Fleecewife]

Our young cockerels have got to the gang rape stage, so two of them must go this weekend  .  They are maybe 6 months old so shouldn't be too tough.  Normally I would cook them in a sauce so keeping the meat moist isn't a problem.  However, this time I fancy roast chicken so - what's the best recipe to keep the meat moist?  Should I do what I do with hogget, which is to wrap it in foil, or place it in a covered roaster, cook it hot for a portion of its cooking time, then turn the heat right down for most of the time, then turn it back up to crisp the skin?
I'm sure loads of cockerels end up on the tables of TASers, so what's your secret recipe please?

[devonlady]

A piece of butter muslin spread with butter (thinly!!) and put over the bird. You won't need to baste and the chicken will be lovely and moist The muslin should cover the bird well.

[SallyintNorth]

I always cook all poultry upside-down, which helps, and for ones which may be dry I cook them inside a lidded cast-iron pot, preferably inside a cast-iron oven

I sometimes pot-roast for most of the time (so some stock and veg under the bird), then take the lid off, turn him breast-up, and crisp the skin.

Let us know what you try and what works best!

[Anke]

I always cook my roasts (goose, chicken, mutton, hogget, goat...) the following way.: 1st 20 to 30 mins at 240 deg C uncovered (to give it "the sizzle" as HFW says), then empty a bottle of cheapish red wine onto it, cover with tin foil and turn oven temp down to 160 degC, then roast for anything between 2.5 and 4 hours depending on size. Then take out the gravy/liquid, up the temp to about 200 deg C to brown the meat again for about 10 to 20mins while I make the sauce. ALWAYS works a treat!

[Mammyshaz]

We  had our cockerel for Christmas dinner.  Used the cast iron pot and lid .Rubbed a small amount of sunflower oil into the skin season with ground salt and pepper. Cooked it for 2 and   a half hours at 180 then removed the lid and crisped the skin on 200 for 20 mins.
It was so tender it melted in your mouth. 
The goose my dad cooked was like leather in comparison.

[Ghdp]

Try roasting on a rack with a pint of water under the rack.

[Goldcraig]

"Beer can" it....
Put garlic, herbs, onion, lemon in a beer can and half fill with water / beer even.
Insert in the chicken and roast with the bird standing up, resting over the can...all the flavor will go into the meat and allow the skin to crisp on the outside.....
This wasy, if you like you can also glaze the bird with BBQ sauce or something to make it nice and sticky.....

[Womble]

I'm sorry FW - I read that as "Roosting Cockerel"  .

Still too early in the morning. I'd cover it in bacon, that way if it's tough as old boots, you can still eat the bacon! 

[Steph Hen]

I like to put herby butter under the skin.

[Fleecewife]

Well, the lads are still running around making nuisances of themselves, until we're ready to deal with them.  We've decided to cull all three. 

Thank you for all the suggestions - excellent choice of methods to try and with three cockerels to try them out on, I'm spoilt for choice.   I think they are about 6-7 months old, so shouldn't be too stringy, but they're not from eating breeds, so will be quite skinny.

Has anyone been watching River Cottage Australia?  It showed a couple of cockerels being killed and cooked in the last programme.  I'm enjoying the series, and the surrounding countryside is very British looking, which for some reason I didn't expect.