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Delicious Cocks combs

September 1, 2007 on 12:11 am | In Offal | Comments

roosters red cocks comb

The mighty rooster and his bright red gelatinous crest.

The defination of a cockscombb from Larousse Gastronomique is as follows:
A cockscomb, cock’s-comb, or (less commonly) coxcomb is a fleshy growth, caruncle, or crest on the top of the head of many gallinaceous birds, notably turkeys, pheasants, and domestic chickens. It is generally larger on males than on females.
Rooster cockscombs are red, but in other species the color may vary from light grey to deep blue or red.

I have included 2 different dishes for the cocks combs as well as the basics on how to work with them.

These are the cocks combs before they have been braised..

fresh cocks combs

All of these dishes are based on the basic technique of braising. First I blanch them in water to remove the impurities, then cover with chicken stock and whole aromatic vegetables and braise until tender.

cooked cocks combs

These are the cooked cocks combs that have stored in there braising liquid over night. After this the cocks combs have endless possibilities. Here are a few dishes that we have done at the restaurant recently.

cockscomb with lobster mushrooms

This dish is braised cocks combs with lobster mushrooms & carnaroli its on the menu now and is selling extremely well.

candied cocks combs

photo courtesy of Michael Harlan turkell

This dish is from our head to tail this year, it was the desert of candied cocks combs with rice pudding and cherries. The idea behind this was warm gummy bears in your pocket.

This just gives you a little taste of where you can go with cocks combs, now its time for you to get some and play around. If you want to get cockscombs you can order them thru D’artagnan.

5 Responses to “Delicious Cocks combs”

  1. The Ethicurean: Chew the right thing. » Blog Archive » Digest: Breastfeeding campaign exposé, pet food history lesson, SciAm food issue says:
    September 2, 2007 at 4:51 pm

    [...] Like "warm gummy bears in your pocket"?!?: Incanto chef and "head to tail" enthusiast Chris Cosentino gives two recipes for cooking cox combs. Where to get them, he doesn’t say. (Offal Good) [...]

  2. Chris Pierce says:
    October 14, 2007 at 11:25 am

    I am a culinary student and have to compose a mock menu, but I can’t find a price for or website where I can order cocks combs. Can you help me ?

    Thanks Chris Pierce

  3. DEBBIE CHANCE says:
    September 30, 2010 at 12:50 pm

    I get my cockscombs from D’Artagnan. They are not featured on their website. You have to call and order them by phone.

  4. Kirill says:
    December 5, 2011 at 10:48 am

    You can just ask around from meat stores that sell organic free range chickens. If they butcher their own chickens it means they have the combs you want.

  5. StoneMaven says:
    August 18, 2012 at 10:53 pm

    I’m a farmer in Tx, and from a culture that throws the decapitated heads to the dogs. It has taken me several years to acclimate my family to the fact that I save and use the feet in soups, much less attempting some of the more interesting Asian inspired uses for “throwaway” chicken parts. I’ll have to be surreptitious about introducing comb to the plate. I really like the idea of utilizing yet another part of the animal. How does one go about cleaning and preparing fresh (and I do mean all but clucking fresh!) cockscomb for the pot? I have 30 roosters waiting for the chop and I haven’t got a clue.

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