Christmas Cockerel Recipe

A luxurious, comforting and traditional Christmas classic. This is the perfect centrepiece for your Christmas table.

1x 5kg Packington Free Range Cockerel

4 slices (90g) white bread

950g good quality sausage meat

1 large onion

10g sage

10g parsley

50g dried cranberries

Zest of 1 lemon

25g butter

Salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas Mark 5.
2. In a food processor, tear up the bread and whiz to form fine breadcrumbs.
3. Take a large bowl and combine the breadcrumbs with the sausage meat.
4. Finely chop the onion, sage, parsley and cranberries and add this to the bowl. Add the zest of 1 lemon and season. Use your hands to combine all the ingredients together.
5. Stuff the cavity of the cockerel with the stuffing mixture (you will be left with some stuffing mixture which can be formed into balls and cooked separately to give a more crunchy stuffing.)
6. Rub the cockerel with butter, season and place in the oven. Cook for 14 minutes per lb/450g, basting every 45 minutes or so. If the cockerel is browning more than desired, loosely cover with foil.
7. Once cooked (when the juices run clear) remove the bird from the oven, cover with foil and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.
8. If the juices are not clear, return to the oven and continue to check every five minutes.