Jan 8  #629                             Guinea Hens, Pheasant and Squab

Roast poultry is an appealing idea nearly any time of the year, but right now as we face the heart of winter, it has perhaps even greater allure.  The old standbys of chicken and turkey appear on our plates often enough, while duck and even goose are not all that rare.  But there are a few other members of the poultry family that we don’t deal with much at all that really do merit our attention.
The first that comes to mind is the Guinea Fowl (hen), the beautiful bird whose grey speckled feathers look as if designed by Bill Blass.  Called the "pintade" in France (where they've perfected cooking it) the Guinea Fowl can be approached almost exactly like chicken, which it closely resembles.  In the butcher shop, the meat appears to be alarmingly dark and unappealing, but it cooks to a very light shade.  In fact the flesh could be considered to be "white meat", which means you have to be careful not to dry it out.  Cooking in a closed container, basting or barding with bacon are options.  Once cooked, the flavor is richer and more concentrated than chicken, with little or no "gaminess" to speak of.  In short, it is fabulous.
Pheasant, which can be ordered through a specialty butcher, presents the cook with the problem of delcicious white meat that is regrettably quite dry.  Much has been made of the practice of "hanging" the pheasant, i.e., allowing a controlled spoilage to soften the bird.  If you don't know exactly what you're doing, you need to let your butcher handle this dicey aging technique.  Once you get the plucked carcass home, consider marinating it overnight.  It will help with the moisture problem.  Roasting is the traditional cooking method.  It goes very quickly, say 30-40 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Remove the wings from the bird, since they have no meat and crowd up against the breast.  Frequent basting with your (boiled) marinade and barding with bacon work very well.  Prick the flesh, and it is done when the juice runs clear.
Squab are specially raised small pigeons, only about 4 weeks old.  Their flesh is dark and delicately flavored, and for once, does not taste like chicken.  Squab meat is very moist, and the breast skin covers a generous layer of fat.  Nearly every recipe we found suggests browning the bird on all sides, in a skillet, before otherwise cooking it.  Take care not to overcook your squab, since it takes on a liver-like flavor.  Because it is a small, dark fleshed bird, it responds well to fast, high temperature cooking.

Guinea Fowl:  called Pintade in France, originated in N. Africa
   approach just like a chicken     darker meat when raw, cooks white
   superb flavor, very little “gaminess”  Avg. size about 3 lbs   Very low in cholesterol,
   fewer calories than chicken.  Can dry out, so consider cooking in ways that preserve
   moisture:  slow covered cooking, basting, barding with bacon
   Ordering from your butcher ?
   Cook in a casserole with white wine, veggies, garlic, herbs
Pheasant Squab

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