[Olly398]

Hello
I'd like to cook the classic italian new years eve dish Bollito Misto, which calls for a variety of meats to be poached slowly then carved and served with lentils and soft mash. I have my pickled tongue sorted and more or less procured an italian poaching sausague.

But all the butchers in Grantham have looked at me like an alien when I asked for a nice boiling fowl.

Does anyone have one they'd be willing to sell me or know where I can get one???
Doesn;t need to be a massive bird.
Cheers!!

Olly

[Eve]

I suspect boiling fowl is the same as "soepkieke" (or "soepkip", literally translated: soup chicken)? They were much larger than chickens for roasting. They were old birds with tougher meat, very common in the shops and sold specifically for soup. I've lived in England for close to 15 years now and haven't come across boiling fowl, I tried to find them in the shops at first and met the same strange looks as you got  .

Sound like an interesting dish! 

[Olly398]

Yes its the old hen that's been knocking about in the yard for too long...

It is a great dish but you need a few hungry friends - fortunately (perhaps not the right word) that's exactly what's descending on us at NY!!! 

[Mrs Snoodles]

You might get lucky asking for a ranging large fowl cockerel over 6 mths   There will be enough meat and the meat will be tougher (if thats what you are after).  I'd sell you my enormous meat birds that got named (and became pets ) by my son. They are now a year old and absolutely enormous.  I'd love ti get rid of them but I would get into SO SO SO!!!!! much trouble I can't.

[kja]

do you live close enough to a livestock auction ? if your any where nr melton you could buy a pen of spent hens usually for a couple of pounds each.

[Olly398]

For info - I am passing through London so I'm getting one from one of the Kosher butchers in Golders Green.
 
Thanks for the tips!