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Cooking guinea fowl

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 aln 24 Dec 2016
I love eating it, but I've never cooked it. Planning to cook one for a Boxing Day meal, does anyone have a tried and trusted recipe? Is it possible to confit a whole bird?
 FactorXXX 24 Dec 2016
In reply to aln:

Use the same cooking instructions as you would for a Heron.
 Yanis Nayu 24 Dec 2016
In reply to FactorXXX:

But go with red wine for guinea fowl and white for heron (it's quite fishy)
Moley 24 Dec 2016
In reply to aln:

We had guinea fowl the last 2 Christmases, just right for the two of us and our favourite tasting white meat fowl.
My wife roasts it like chicken, but I don't have a clue how long or how, it just appears on the plate cooked . Have a feeling it can dry up easily as there's not as much fat as chicken so may need basting or covering when roasting - good luck.
 yorkshireman 24 Dec 2016
In reply to aln:

We bought one yesterday from our local butcher and he helpfully advised us to roast it at 180º/190º for 2 hours, but let it be room temperature before it goes in. It's a 2.2kg bird.

I suspect my wife has her own idea on what recipe she's doing but he always likes to give the benefit of his experience (he's French, we're English, he probably assumes we can't cook!).
 Doug 24 Dec 2016
In reply to yorkshireman:

We have guinea fowl from time to time, but usually just buy legs rather than a whole bird. From talking to my partner & her mother (both French) I get the impression, that, at least in France, the birds used to be dry & need roasting with bacon or (mother in laws usual) blue cheese such as roquefort. But nowadays they seem to have enough of their own fat & don't need such treatment. Cook like chicken

Bon appétit
 d_b 24 Dec 2016
In reply to aln:

I always roast it, similar to small chicken.

Put a couple of strips of bacon on top.

Start off at gas 7-8 (220-230c), sizzle for half an hour then turn down to gas 4 (180c) for the remainder.

Roasting time in the river cottage meat book is 30-40 minutes including the sizzle time, but Hugh likes his meat rare so you may need to do it slightly longer.
 Yanis Nayu 24 Dec 2016
In reply to yorkshireman:

> We bought one yesterday from our local butcher and he helpfully advised us to roast it at 180º/190º for 2 hours, but let it be room temperature before it goes in. It's a 2.2kg bird.

I was getting guinea fowl mixed up with quail and I thought you must have bought a steroid fuelled mutant!



 Cog 24 Dec 2016
In reply to FactorXXX:

> Use the same cooking instructions as you would for a Heron.

Before cooking it must be ascertained that no bones of the heron are broken. These bones are filled with a fishy fluid, which, if allowed to come in contact with the flesh, makes the whole bird taste of fish. This fluid, however, should be always extracted from the bones, and kept in the medicine cupboard, for it is excellent applied to all sorts of cuts and cracks. The heron is first picked and flayed. Then slices are cut from the breast and legs to make the pudding. The crust is made exactly like that of a meat pudding, and the slices of heron put in and seasoned exactly as meat would be. The pudding is boiled for several hours, according to its size.
llechwedd 24 Dec 2016
In reply to Cog:

I seem to recall that whereas most carcasses can be boiled for stock, the liquor from boiled heron's legs was thought to be a useful as a bait additive for attracting fish.
cb294 24 Dec 2016
In reply to aln:

Treat it like a dry chicken. I would prefer a recipe where you actually immerse the meat in some kind of sauce (coq au vin or curry-like) over true roasting. If you want to roast, drop the temperature and check with a meat thermometer to catch it as soon as it sufficiently done.

CB
OP aln 24 Dec 2016
In reply to aln:

Thanks for the replies. I'm wondering if brining might be an idea?
cb294 24 Dec 2016
In reply to aln:

Possibly. If I had to I would try buttermilk (as for rabbit, which is always similarly dry).

CB
 chrisgj 24 Dec 2016
In reply to aln:

> I love eating it, but I've never cooked it. Planning to cook one for a Boxing Day meal, does anyone have a tried and trusted recipe? Is it possible to confit a whole bird?

Spatchcock it rub with stork (margarine) 90 minutes in 850w microwave.
Rest for 15min.
OP aln 25 Dec 2016
In reply to chrisgj:

Yawn
 MonkeyPuzzle 25 Dec 2016
In reply to aln:

> Thanks for the replies. I'm wondering if brining might be an idea?

Always. Jokes aside, spatchcock it and salt heavily inside and out several hours before cooking. The salt will draw out water, form a brine and be drawn back into the meat. That and the spatchcocking will help speed up the cooking, meaning less chance to dry out. If you want crispy skin give a light sprinkle of baking powder.
Lusk 25 Dec 2016
In reply to aln:

> Thanks for the replies. I'm wondering if brining might be an idea?

That was my first thought. Chucks I've done in the past do seem more succulent.
Turkey brining away at this very moment, then low & slow starting in the morning
OP aln 29 Dec 2016
In reply to aln:

I covered the Guinea Fowl in smoked pancetta, in a baking tray with oil, butter, carrots, onions and celery. Roasted it for an hour, basted it four times. It was lovely, not dry at all. My new GF was well impressed, definite bonus

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