Festive meal: capons and farm turkeys from Lozère at Maison Delcros

En une semaine, la Maison Delcros va préparer 700 dindes et chapons. Midi Libre – Manon Baffie

Rather turkey or capon on the menu for the holidays ? To support local producers, head to Maison Delcros, in Monts-Verts.
 

Maison Delcros is in full swing. A week before Christmas, the whole team is on deck to allow customers to have a plump poultry on the Christmas table.

It's impossible to do otherwise: these festive dishes have a very short use-by date, and everyone wants them by December 24 or 25. In one week, some 700 poultry will be slaughtered and packaged to be sent to the four corners of the department. “It's short but quite intense“, acknowledges the company's president, Guillaume Delcros.

Capons fattened on milk from the farm

The star of this winter is undoubtedly the capon. Their breeding begins during the summer to give them time to fatten up. They are castrated at the age of one month. In the last weeks of their life, they are fattened with whole raw milk from Guillaume's mother's farm. “It really flavors the poultry”, assures the breeder.

Turkeys rustic

Purists, on the other hand, prefer the traditional turkey. Maison Delcros offers two types: black, about 3 kg, and grey, which weigh 5 to 6 kg. “These are rustic strains that are not found much anymore. The taste is different, it's not industrial turkey“

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The great success of a family business

Maison Delcros is a family story. In 1996, Guillaume Delcros' mother started a poultry farming business on the small farm where her mother raised cows. Guillaume settled in 2015, when his grandmother retired. He then decided to separate the cattle farm from the poultry business and develop the latter. “Short supply chains were booming. It took off at a rapid pace impressive“, confides the breeder. While its turnover reached just 70,000 euros in its first year, Maison Delcros exceeded one million in 2021. Since 2018, it has also launched into egg production, in collaboration with four other farms. Guillaume Delcros now has the ambition to manufacture all the feed for his poultry on the farm. A way for the company to be more autonomous and better manage its supply. “In recent years, with the conflict in Ukraine, the droughts, prices have varied enormously, the farmer emphasizes. It's our main burden.”

The family business mainly offers whole poultry for roasting, but it has also developed other products especially for the holidays, such as pistachio and guinea fowl pâté en croûte or capon dodines. “We cut up the capon, we debone it, we put the stuffing in place of the carcass and we reconstitute a sort of roast, explains the breeder. It's very easy to serve.”

A longer breeding time

The signature of Maison Delcros is poultry raised outdoors, slaughtered on the farm. “When they are small, they fear the cold. They spend their first six weeks inside with heating, explains Guillaume Delcros. Afterwards, we open the hatch, they come in and out as they want, they live their lives.”

Another major difference is the breeding time. “Manufacturers will push the poultry with rich foods so that it is ready quickly, specifies the breeder. They are killed at two months; in Label Rouge, it is three months, and with us it is four.” According to him, the guarantee of “bigger poultry, with meat that stays on the bone and more flavor“.

To enjoy them, nothing beats simplicity. “I'm quite a fan of whole roasted poultry, seasoned just right. You have to be careful when cooking, don't overdo it, between 160° and 180°, and baste well, advises Guillaume Delcros. You have to allow about an hour of cooking per kilo.”

Information: www.maisondelcros.fr