Guinea Fowl Dishes Recipes

POT-ROASTED GUINEA FOWL WITH SAGE, CELERY AND BLOOD ORANGE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove any excess fat from the cavity of each guinea fowl. Wash thoroughly inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the cavity with a little salt. Cut off the two ends of the oranges, stand them on end and carefully slice off the skin (once you have removed one piece of skin you can see where the flesh meets the skin). Slice the oranges into five or six rounds each. Remove the tougher outside ribs of the celery until you reach the white, dense bulb and slice across thinly.
• Put in a bowl, mix in the thyme and a small pinch of salt and pepper, then stuff the cavity of each guinea fowl with this filling. Pull the skin at the front of each guinea fowl's cavity forward, to cover the filling, and tightly tie/truss up.
• Heat a thick-bottomed pan and add the olive oil and the guinea fowl, the skin of which has been rubbed in sea salt and pepper. Cook until lightly golden on all sides, then add the garlic, butter and sage and cook for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Add the wine at intervals, enough to keep the pan slightly moist at all times. Place in the oven for 45 minutes, checking every 10-15 minutes and just topping up the wine as necessary. The guinea fowl will be roasted and partially steamed.
• When cooked, carefully remove from the oven and place upside down on a dish, allowing all the juices and moisture to relax back into the breast meat for at least 5 minutes. While your meat is resting, make the gravy.
• Remove all the fat from the roasting pan and place the pan on gentle heat. In the bottom of the pan will be your cooked, soft, sweet, whole garlic cloves and some gorgeous sticky stuff--when this gets hot, scoop out the stuffing from the guinea fowl cavity and add to the pan with about 2/3 cup of wine. As the wine boils and steams, scrape all the goodness with a spoon from the bottom of the pan into the liquor. When it has all dissolved, leave to simmer gently. Squash the cooked garlic out of their skins with a spoon (discard the skins); this will also thicken the gravy slightly, as well as give it flavor. Pour any of the juices that have drained out of the rested birds into the pan with the gravy, simmer and season to taste. Serve the guinea fowl with roast potatoes and any simply cooked green vegetable--spinach, kale, bok choy or broccoli.

ROASTED GUINEA FOWL WITH CHAPELURE DE LEGUMES AND APPLE CIDER SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 150 degrees F.
• To make the vegetable flakes, set a mandoline over a large bowl. Slice 1 fennel bulb paper-thin, then slice 1 onion, 1/2 of the celery root, and 1 of the apples to the same thickness. Switch to a vegetable peeler, and working over the same bowl, peel 1 carrot into thin ribbons. Mix the vegetables and spread them evenly on a baking sheet. Place the sheet in the oven to dry the vegetables until completely brittle, about 2 1/2 hours. (If you have an oven with a convection function, this will shorten the drying time to 1 hour.)
• Transfer the vegetables to the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse until reduced to flakes. Store, covered, at room temperature. This can be done 1 day ahead.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• To prepare the birds, halve the remaining fennel, onion, carrot, and celery root, then cut them again into several small wedges. Place them in a large baking dish along with the potatoes and garlic. Generously season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and mix to coat.
• Season the guinea fowl with salt and pepper inside and out. Stuff the cavities with whole sprigs of thyme. Rub them all over with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Place the birds on the bed of vegetables. Roast, uncovered, for 45 minutes, basting occasionally with pan juices.
• Cut the remaining apple into several wedges and add it to the roasting pan. Continue roasting and basting until the skin on the birds turns golden brown, another 20 minutes. Remove the birds from the oven, sprinkle them generously with dried vegetable flakes, then continue to roast until the juices run clear, another 10 minutes. Transfer the birds and roasted vegetables to a serving platter. Cover loosely with foil and let rest while preparing the sauce.
• To make the pan sauce, pour the pan juices into a small saucepan. Skim and discard as much fat off the top as possible. Over medium-low heat, deglaze the roasting pan with the cider and simmer for 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the roasting pan to loosen the browned bits. Add the hot cider from the roasting pan to the pan juices, and over high heat, reduce the liquid by half. Stir in the butter, season with salt and pepper, and pour it into a sauce boat. Sprinkle the birds and the vegetables with persillade. Carve the guinea fowl at the table and serve with the cider sauce.

GUINEA FOWL TAGINE

Steps:

• The day before cooking, put all the ingredients for the chermoula in a blender and process until smooth. Pour over the bird and marinate in the fridge overnight.
• Next day, heat oven to 220C/200C fan/ gas 7. Scrape the chermoula marinade off the bird and set aside. Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the bird on all sides over a high heat. Put the carrots, onions, fruit and reserved chermoula into the tagine and place the guinea fowl on top. Pour in about 400ml water - enough to come 1cm from the top of the tagine base. Cover and cook in the oven for about 45 mins, then turn the heat down to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and cook for another 45 mins.
• About 15 mins before serving, rinse the couscous in cold water and put in a shallow bowl. Season with salt and scatter with the butter and sultanas. Pour on 200ml boiling water. Cover and leave for 10 mins or until the grains are plump and tender. Open the tagine at the table and stir the preserved lemon and mint into the juices. Serve the couscous and harissa separately.

ROAST GUINEA FOWL CROWN WITH LEG 'SHEPHERD'S PIE'

Steps:

• To make the pie, heat 1 tbsp of the butter in a casserole dish or shallow saucepan. Season and fry the guinea fowl legs for 10 mins until browned. Transfer to a plate and set aside, then add the bacon to the pan and fry for a few mins until just starting to crisp. Scatter in the onions, carrots and bay leaf and cook for 5 mins more until softened, adding a bit more butter if needed. Stir in the flour and wine, if using, and boil for 30 seconds. Gradually pour in the stock, stirring constantly, and return to the boil.
• Return the legs to the pan, season generously, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 50 mins until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. If the stock doesn't cover the legs completely, turn them over halfway through cooking. Transfer the legs to a plate and leave to cool, then stir in the cavolo nero, simmer for 1 min more and turn off the heat. When the legs are cool enough to handle, shred the meat off the bone and stir it back through the sauce. Tip everything into a small pie dish.
• Boil the potatoes in salted water for 10 mins until tender, then drain and mash with the milk, most of the remaining butter and some seasoning. Top the pie with the mash and set aside. Will keep in the fridge for up to two days.
• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Heat some oil in an ovenproof frying pan and brown the crown, skin-side down. Turn using tongs, add the clementines to the pan, cut-side down, and put the thyme in the cavity of the crown. Transfer the pan to the oven. Dot the pie with the remaining butter and put in the oven on the shelf below the crown. Roast the crown for 25 mins, or until it reaches 60C on a cooking thermometer, then remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 mins while the pie continues to bake until golden. Serve the pie on a board with the crown and the caramelised clementine halves for squeezing over.

ROAST GUINEA FOWL WITH CHESTNUT, SAGE & LEMON STUFFING

Steps:

• First make the stuffing. Soften the onion in the butter very gently, then stir in the sage and cook for 2 mins more. Scrape into a bowl with the chopped walnuts, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, mace, chestnuts and egg and mix together well. Season generously.
• For the guinea fowl, wash and wipe out the inside cavity. Mix the butter with some seasoning, then push and spread some under the skin over the breasts, and rub the rest over the legs. Lay the bacon across the breasts, smoothing over, and season with some more pepper. Push the stuffing into the cavity (any extra can be rolled into balls and baked in the oven for the last 20 mins cooking time). You can cover and chill the guinea fowl now for up to 24 hours.
• To roast, bring the bird out of the fridge 30 mins before. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Sit the bird in a snug roasting tin with the sliced onion underneath. Roast for 15 mins, then lower the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and roast for a further 35-45 mins for a 1kg bird (or longer if bigger - use the timings for a roast chicken). Check the bird is done by piercing the inside of the thigh with a knife and making sure the juices are clear, not bloody. Lift the guinea fowl off the onions, onto a platter. Loosely cover with foil, top with a towel (to keep it warm), and rest while you make the gravy.
• Pour off the juices from the roasting tray into a jug or bowl, and allow to settle. Spoon a tbsp of the fat on top back into the roasting tray, pop on the hob over a low heat (make sure your roasting tray is suitable or transfer contents to a pan), and stir in the flour until it isn't dusty anymore. Gradually stir in the stock, plus any meat juices after you've discarded the rest of the fat, and bubble gently until thickened. Season with salt, pepper, and pinches of sugar if it needs it, then strain into a gravy jug and discard the onions. Serve with the guinea fowl, spooning out the stuffing as you carve, plus cranberry sauce and plenty of vegetables.

POT-ROAST GUINEA FOWL WITH CABBAGE & BACON

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Heat the butter in a large flameproof casserole and brown the guinea fowl all over. Remove and set aside.
• Add the lardons to the pan, cook for 2-3 mins until beginning to turn golden. Add the celery, carrot and onion and cook for 5 mins. Then stir in the cabbage and cook for 5 mins more.
• Add the juniper berries, wine and stock, then sit the guinea fowl on top. Bring to a simmer then cover tightly and roast in the oven for 1 hr 15 mins, until the bird is cooked through.

ONE-POT ROAST GUINEA FOWL

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Toss the vegetables with the oil and some seasoning in a large flameproof roasting tin. Place the bird on top of the veg, smear with 1 tbsp butter and lay the rashers in a row over the breast. Season generously, then roast for 40 mins.
• Remove from the oven and give the veg a stir while adding the garlic and thyme. Pour 200ml stock and the wine over the veg and return to oven to roast for another 40 mins until the bird is cooked through and the juices run clear.
• Remove the bird, place on a serving plate, cover with foil to keep warm and leave to rest. Turn the oven up to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and roast the veg for a further 15 mins until tender.
• Remove the veg with a slotted spoon and transfer to the serving plate with the bird. Mix 2 tsp butter and flour in a small bowl to form a smooth paste. Place the roasting tin with all the cooking juices, plus any resting juices, on the hob. Whisk the paste and redcurrant jelly into the juices until dissolved, then add the remaining stock and extra seasoning, if you like. Bubble for a few mins until the sauce thickens. Slice and serve the guinea fowl, crisp bacon and the veg with the sauce on the side.