Featured Smoked Capon Thanksgiving Dinner

[civilsmoker]

So we wanted to change the meal up today and keep things simple….. we went with a Capon that was about 11 lbs…..

I wet brined it for 36 hours, then fridge dried it for 2 and 1 hour on the counter before seasoning it with kinders buttery steak….

The cook plan was 335 for 2.5 hours…. On the RT1250….i did do my partial backbone removal to allow for airflow through the cavity…

An hour in I rotated it and foil covered the wings as they were getting a lot of color….

I kept rotating it to keep the skin roasting nicely and even foil skirted it to help the top get nice and roasted…..this skirting thing is what Mrs Civil does on her pies to keep the edges from burning…..

Done resting and ready to slice……man oh man pure smiles here!!!!! Oh my new trick is to have and inset cutting board over a stainless racked sheet pan…..this keeps the juices in the pan and not over the counter….

And now the simple plate…..the salad replaced other veg sides….

Spinach apple balsamic salad….Mrs C knocks this out of the park!!!

As always the money shot!!!

The fam really enjoyed the simple spread this year and they rather liked the capon, it is a juicy velvety bird for sure!

 

[SmokinEdge]

Beautifully done bird. Capon is a bit pricey for birds but they are darn good. Nice work Cival.

 

[civilsmoker]

Beautifully done bird. Capon is a bit pricey for birds but they are darn good. Nice work Cival.

Many thanks SE, yea the price is $$, we simplified this yea to spring for one and it sure was tasty for sure!

I kept a close eye on it though…..didn’t want to explain why we would be having frozen pizza with dressing and mash…lol.

 

[JLinza]

Thats a great lookin bird and meal, nice work

 

[schlotz]

Mom did capons for years at Thanksgiving although sometime it was duck.. I've always preferred capons vs turkey. Nice job with the skirting civil.

 

[crazymoon]

CS, Good looking bird and plate. I like your cutting board over the tray idea !

 

[chopsaw]

Good lookin' plate of grub . Nice work .

 

[912smoker]

You may call it simple but sure looks like a 5 meal Civil . Never had Capon but I've noticed it in the stores.

Keith

 

[miller51]

That's an awesome looking plate... think I'm going to have to start upping my game!

 

[civilsmoker]

Thats a great lookin bird and meal, nice work

Many thanks JL!

Mom did capons for years at Thanksgiving although sometime it was duck.. I've always preferred capons vs turkey. Nice job with the skirting civil.

It’s a nice treat for sure, just velvety tast and texture! We have some duck breasts for around Christmas time too

Thanks and I did break out most of the tricks to get a nice even skin roast! Bird cooking is an active cook in my book!

CS, Good looking bird and plate. I like your cutting board over the tray idea !

Thanks cm! The cutting board tray trick is a game changer no more mess!

 

[civilsmoker]

Good lookin' plate of grub . Nice work .

Thanks chop!!!

You may call it simple but sure looks like a 5 meal Civil . Never had Capon but I've noticed it in the stores.

Keith

Much appreciate Keith! It was a split assignment day…. My focus was on the bird and gravy (and dish cleanup), my daughter the mash, the boy covered the dressing and Mrs C the salad. Focaccia (for the dressing) and stock made the day before. Outside of prep the bird went in 3 hours before the meal and the rest was 2.5 hours of controlled kitchen madness lol!!

That's an awesome looking plate... think I'm going to have to start upping my game!

Thanks miller! It really helps to have 8 hands working!

 

[gmc2003]

Fantastic looking chow Cortney

Point for sure
Chris

 

[civilsmoker]

Fantastic looking chow Cortney

Point for sure
Chris

Thanks Chris! This was one of the more stress free Thanksgiving we have had in a while.

 

[seenred]

Beautiful meal Cortney…nicely done Sir! I’m betting you had some happy diners at your table!

Red

 

[Fueling Around]

Wow
Never had a steer chicken. Is it better?
Long ago my sister raised meat chickens. I took one of the young roosters. It was fantastic and rolled in around 14 pounds

 

[civilsmoker]

Beautiful meal Cortney…nicely done Sir! I’m betting you had some happy diners at your table!

Red

Much appreciated Red! Oh yes a full table of happy smiles for sure!

Wow
Never had a steer chicken. Is it better?
Long ago my sister raised meat chickens. I took one of the young roosters. It was fantastic and rolled in around 14 pounds

Thanks FA! The fam says it’s way better than normal chicken and tons better than turkey. It is spendy but less than rib roast on a per lb basis. They are 12-14 week birds so larger and the meat has marbling in it (you can taste it) and the thigh/legs are almost white vs dark. They are velvety in texture with a slight gamey tone. Pheasant is my fav bird and these would be second.

 

[civilsmoker]

I thought I would share a pic of my partial backbone removal for whole bird roasting.

This works for all whole birds even 20lb + turkeys. It speeds up the cook and gives the right INT ratio between breast to thigh meat.