Normandy Guinea Fowl 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.

NORMANDY GUINEA FOWL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Peel, quarter, core and thickly slice the apples. Melt half the butter in a heavy casserole over a medium heat. Add the apples and cider, cover, and cook briskly for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and boil for 5 minutes to concentrate the juices. The apples should be tender and juicy but not overly wet. If you're using guinea fowl, skin it and joint into four pieces, trimming away any fat. Melt the remaining butter in a frying pan, season the guinea fowl or chicken and brown briefly. Bury the meat in the apples. Tuck a piece of greaseproof paper over the pan contents to exclude air, and add the lid. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the meat from the dish and keep warm. Put the casserole, with the apples, over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Add the alcohol and, a couple of minutes later, the cream. Boil, stirring, to blend and reduce the sauce. Adjust the seasoning. Spoon most of the sauced apples onto a platter and top with the meat. Add the last of the apples, and serve.

GUINEA FOWL WITH ROAST CHESTNUTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Season the guinea fowl or chicken inside and out, halve the lemon, then put inside the bird with the bay leaves and 2 thyme sprigs. Set in a roasting tin, drizzle with a little olive oil, then roast for 15 mins.
• Meanwhile, strip the remaining thyme leaves from their stalks. Mix the potatoes, thyme, garlic and remaining oil, then season. Put potatoes around the bird, then return to the oven for 45 mins. Stir the mushrooms into the potatoes along with the chestnuts. Roast for a further 15 mins until mushrooms are cooked. Spoon vegetables onto a warm platter. Nestle the cooked bird back among veg. Keep warm while you prepare the sauce.
• Boil the pan juices on the hob, add the wine, stock and jelly, then bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the jelly. Boil hard until the sauce is slightly thickened. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary, then pour into a jug and pass round for everyone to help themselves.

GUINEA FOWL WITH MUSTARD & LEMON ROOTS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Wipe the guinea fowl and season all over with salt and pepper, place in a large roasting tray and pop in the oven. Finely grate the lemon zest and scrape into a large bowl. Add the mustard and oil and mix well. Halve the lemon and put it inside the bird.
• Meanwhile, peel the carrots and potatoes, then cut them into thick chunks. Cut the leeks into 3-4 pieces, depending on their length. Add all the veggies to the bowl with the oil and mustard, and mix until well coated.
• When the guinea fowl has been roasting for 30 mins, add the veggies around the bird, sprinkle with a little salt and return to the oven for a further 45 mins.
• Splash the wine around the bird and over the veggies and put the bacon over the bird. Return to the oven for a further 15-20 mins, until the bacon is crisp and the veggies are tender.

TANDOORI ROAST GUINEA FOWL

Steps:

• First, make the marinade. Combine all the ingredients with 1 tsp salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Sit the guinea fowl in a large bowl or container and rub the marinade all over, including under the skin of the breast. Transfer to the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hr, or for up to 24 hrs.
• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/ gas 7. Put the marinated guinea fowl in a small roasting tin and pour over any leftover marinade. Pour a small glass of water into the tin around the guinea fowl and roast for 50 mins-1 hr until cooked through and lightly charred. Carefully lift the guinea fowl onto a board, draining any cooking juices from the cavity into the tin, and leave to rest for about 10 mins while you make the sauce.
• Add a splash of water to the roasting tin. If the tin is flameproof, set it over a medium heat and bring to a simmer. If the tin is not flameproof, scrape everything into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the cream and bring to the boil. Season to taste, adding a squeeze more lemon juice if needed. Pour the sauce into a serving dish, or pass through a sieve into a dish if you prefer a smoother sauce. Carve the guinea fowl and serve with the sauce, some flatbreads and raita, if you like.

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.

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.

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.