How To Cook Guinea Fowl Recipes

HOW TO COOK GUINEA FOWL

Steps:

• Thaw frozen guinea fowl in the fridge for 24 hours. If you purchased guinea fowl frozen, it needs to safely thaw in the refrigerator before you can cook it. Keep the guinea fowl in its packaging and put it on a tray in case it leaks as it thaws. If you need to thaw the guinea fowl more quickly, submerge it in cold water for about 2.5 hours. Change the water every 30 minutes and replace it with fresh cold water. Never set frozen guinea fowl on the counter to thaw at room temperature or use hot water to thaw it. It could grow harmful bacteria with these methods.
• Rinse the thawed guinea fowl, pat it dry, and rest it in the fridge for 24 hours. If you don't have time to do this, you can skip this step. If possible, though, set it on a wire rack over top of a plate and leave it uncovered in the fridge. This helps the skin on the guinea fowl dry out a little bit, which means it'll get crispier in the oven. If you can't find a 4 pounds (1.8 kg) bird, get 2 smaller ones. This step is in addition to the 24 hours it took to thaw the guinea fowl if you purchased it frozen.
• Take the guinea fowl out of the fridge 30-60 minutes before cooking it. This will help the meat cook through more evenly than if you were to pop it into the oven straight from the refrigerator. Set it on a wire rack over a plate so that it doesn't sit in liquid. If you reverse engineer the time it'll take to rest, roast, and prepare the bird, you'll know when to take it out of the fridge. For example, it takes about 10 minutes to prep the guinea fowl, 60 minutes to cook it, and 15 minutes for it to rest. With that math, plan on taking the guinea fowl out of the fridge 2-2.5 hours before you want to eat.
• Preheat the oven to 400 °F (204 °C). Because the guinea fowl isn't as large as other birds, it won't take nearly as long to cook. While the oven is preheating, take a moment to gather your ingredients in one place so you have everything you need. This is also a time when you could prep whatever side dishes you're planning to serve. You can finish making them while the bird is roasting in the oven.
• Smash 3 cloves of garlic but leave the skins in place. Simply place the garlic cloves on a clean cutting board and crush them with a chef's knife's flat side. This releases the garlic's aroma and flavor to penetrate the bird as it cooks. If you don't have fresh garlic cloves, use 3 tsp (9 grams) of pre-minced garlic.
• Set the guinea fowl in a large cast-iron skillet. If you don't have a cast-iron skillet, you could use a roasting dish or a dutch oven. Use a skillet that's 2 to 3 inches (5.1 to 7.6 cm) deep so the juices don't spill into the oven. The juices will be used in the pan sauce later on; plus, spilled liquid will burn in the oven and create a huge mess. Don't use a baking sheet or baking stone for this dish.
• Rub the guinea fowl with 2 teaspoons (9.9 mL) of olive oil. Wash your hands first, then pour the olive oil over the bird. Use your hands to massage the oil into the bird's skin. Make sure to get all around its sides and the bottom, too! The olive oil will help the skin crisp up even more while the guinea fowl roasts; plus, it'll impart a great flavor to the bird. Remember to wash your hands after this step. You don't want to touch anything else until you've cleaned your hands to prevent spreading harmful bacteria from the raw chicken to other surfaces.
• Spread the salt, pepper, thyme, and crushed garlic over the guinea fowl. Sprinkle 3/4 tsp (3.5 grams) of sea salt, 1/2 tsp (1 gram) of black pepper, and 2 tbsp (5 grams) of fresh thyme leaves over the bird. Place the 3 cloves of smashed garlic around the guinea fowl in the skillet. If you don't have fresh thyme, substitute 1.5 tsp (1.5 grams) of dried thyme. This is where you could get a little more adventurous if you wanted to. You could add sage leaves, lemon wedges, sliced shallots, chopped onion, bay leaves, dried or fresh rosemary, oregano, or even a drizzle of honey.

ROAST GUINEA HEN

Steps:

• Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Place the guinea hen in a large, deep bowl, pour the marinade over and inside the hen, cover the bowl, and marinate, refrigerated, overnight, turning occasionally to ensure that all parts of the bird are covered.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove the hen from the marinade. Reserve the marinade. Put the hen in a roasting pan and brush with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Turn the hen breastside down in the pan and roast for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the hen onto its back, decrease the oven temperature to 325 degrees, and roast for 1 hour. While the hen is roasting, place the reserved marinade in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and reduce to approximately 1/4 cup. When the hen has 15 minutes left to cook, pour the reduced marinade over the hen and return it to the oven for its final 15 minutes of cooking. Remove from the oven, and let the hen rest for 10 or 15 minutes before dividing into serving portions.

GUINEA FOWL

Steps:

• Split guinea fowl or poussins. Remove wing portions and backbones. Bone breasts and thighs, leaving breast and thigh pieces attached with skin. Place each piece in a separate zip-top plastic freezer bag and spoon in 2 tablespoons fat. Add a pinch of pepper, sugar and salt to each, expel air from the bags, seal. Squeeze to mix.
• For chicken jus: Boil chicken stock in a saucepan until reduced to about 1 1/2 cups. Add port and boil until mixture is syrupy and reduced to 2/3 cup, about 20 minutes. Season with soy sauce, walnut oil and salt.
• For bread sauce: Place bread, garlic, salt, pepper and sugar in a food processor and blend into crumbs. Drizzle in oil and blend into a paste.
• For parsley oil: Combine oil and parsley in a blender and purée.
• Heat 3 quarts of water in a 5-quart saucepan to 140 degrees. Place the fowl packets in the water, cover and cook 35 minutes, until you can push your finger into the thigh of the bird. Do not test flesh through the skin side. Remove from bags and arrange on a foil-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and broil until golden on each side, about 8 minutes total.
• Reheat jus. Divide the spinach and daikon among 4 plates and drizzle with 2 tablespoons jus. Top each with a half fowl, then the remaining jus. Drizzle with parsley oil and arrange a leek half over top. Place the potatoes, beans and a dollop of bread sauce to the side.