History

The breed was standardised around Rennes in the nineteenth century and was the dominant table bird of Ille-et-Vilaine before industrial poultry displaced it. By the late 1980s the population had collapsed to a handful of birds, and a conservation programme run through the Écomusée du Pays de Rennes rebuilt it from that remnant. Coucou birds take five to six months to reach table weight against six weeks for a commercial broiler, which gives the meat a denser grain and a much stronger flavour, and makes it expensive. It now appears on Rennes bistro menus as a marker of local sourcing, usually roasted whole, grilled over wood or braised long enough to soften the working muscle.

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Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 2 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 free-range slow-grown chicken, about 2kg
  • 60g salted butter, softened
  • 2 shallots, halved
  • 1 head of garlic, halved across
  • 3 sprigs thyme
  • 200ml dry Breton cider
  • 200ml chicken stock
  • 100ml double cream
  • 1 tbsp old-style mustard
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Salt the bird inside and out and leave uncovered in the fridge overnight. Bring to room temperature an hour before cooking.
  2. Rub the butter under and over the skin, season, and put the shallots, garlic and thyme in the cavity.
  3. Roast at 220C for 20 minutes, then drop to 170C, pour the cider into the tin and roast a further 80 to 90 minutes, basting every 20, until the juices at the thigh run clear.
  4. Rest the bird on a warm board for 20 minutes. A slow-grown bird needs a long rest.
  5. Skim the fat from the tin, add the stock and reduce by half on the hob, scraping the tin.
  6. Stir in the cream and mustard, simmer two minutes, season and pour into a jug. Carve and serve with the sauce.

Tip from the editors. A slow-grown bird is not a supermarket chicken with a longer cook: it is leaner and firmer, so the overnight salting and the 20-minute rest do most of the work.

Where to eat coucou de rennes

Coucou de Rennes in Rennes

Jozy ★ 4.4

€€ Wine barSaint-Georges

Jozy is a bistro and natural wine bar on Rue Vasselot in Rennes, chef Noé Viviès grilling Coucou de Rennes chicken behind a hundred-bottle cellar.

PourLucy Rosedale's natural pick of the week

WineAround 100 natural references

FoodNoé Viviès' full bistro kitchen behind the bar

TipSunday runs non-stop from noon, rare for Rennes; it is the natural-wine Sunday option in the city.

Directions

Coquille ★ 4.3

€€ Locavore bistroLes Lices

Coquille is Arnaud Guilloux's locavore bistro on Rue Nantaise in Rennes, generous seasonal cooking from Breton producers with a second room in Cesson-Sévigné.

OrderThe seasonal fish of the day from Breton ports

Directions Book

Fezi ★ 4.2

€€ Locavore bistroSaint-Hélier

Fezi is Cédric Bruneau's organic bistro on Avenue Sergent Maginot in Rennes, a locavore kitchen with sommelier William Nogris pouring natural bottles.

Why locals goAcross the river from everything on Avenue Sergent Maginot, an organic bistro locals cross the Vilaine for while visitors stay in the old town.

TipThe €19 to €22 weekday lunch is the soft entry; dinner steps up to a €40 menu with natural pairings.

Directions

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