I love chicken. Not the poor unfortunate, antibiotic laden, water pumped scrawn that make their way to Ireland’s shores from the far side of the globe. Rather, the excellent quality, low density, real free range chicken available in some better butchers here in Ireland. I love chicken and I like pheasant. So, when I happened upon a Guinea fowl in my butcher’s chiller, I decided to give it a go.
Ingredients for Guinea Fowl with Parsnips
- 1 guinea fowl
- 3 or 4 slices of Parma ham
- 3 or 4 big parsnips
- 1 tablespoon of wholegrain mustard
- 1 tablespoon of clear honey
- 1 lemon
- pepper to season
Method for Guinea Fowl with Parsnips
Heat the oven to 180ºC (360ºF). Slice the lemon in half. Season the bird with the pepper.
At this stage, it looks more like a pheasant.
Drizzle with lemon juice from half the lemon. Place the squeezed half lemon in the cavity of the bird. Drape the bird with the Parma ham.
The Parma ham gets oh, so crispy. It adds great texture.
This will do a number of things. Firstly, it will prevent the breast from drying out. Secondly it will help season the bird during cooking and thirdly, you will get nice, crispy ham pieces to serve with the meal.
Mix the mustard and honey with the juice from the remaining half lemon.
All the colours are in the same autumnal range. That’s a happy accident.
Slice the parsnips into quarters, as shown and pour most of the mustard mix over.
The only way to mix them is by hand. Prepare to get your hands sticky.
Stir to combine. Place the bird in a slightly too large roasting pan (the parsnips will be going in later). Place in the oven and leave it alone for half an hour. Take it out and move the crispy Parma off the bird. Trust me, it will be crispy. Pour the remaining mustard and honey glaze over the chicken. Surround the bird with parsnips and return to the oven for another 25 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow it to stand for 5 to 10 minutes.
The parsnips don’t need to be sold too hard. They are delicious in this glaze.
Try to not pick at the parsnips or eat the crispy ham while you wait to serve. Carve the bird in the same way one should do a chicken. I opened a nice bottle of oaked French Chardonnay (most unfashionable, I know) to accompany the dish. It was all pretty delicious.
Note the very light breast meat and very dark leg meat. Very tasty both.
The taste was slightly gamier than chicken and slightly less so than pheasant. So, if you like your pheasant and love your chicken. Give guinea fowl a go. You won’t be disappointed.
Ron | 31st October 2017
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I really like the looks of this recipe. Don’t know if I can chase down a guinea, but do have access to pheasant. However, like you, not a favorite. How about a nice fresh chicken cooked in this fashion? Honey mustard parsnips, wow. That’s sure to be on the table very soon. Great detailed post.
Conor Bofin | Author | 3rd November 2017
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Ron, a chicken done this way would be excellent. The proviso being that it needs to be a decent quality chicken. The parsnips are a real treat. so simple and delicious.
katechiconi | 31st October 2017
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Nice to see a bit of game… Guinea fowl isn’t that easy to buy here, despite the fact that it’s a popular domestic fowl in the country. Can you have a think about a nice rabbit recipe? I’m a bit over doing it with prunes and juniper… Meanwhile, I’ll have to give the parsnip idea a go before they’re completely out of season!
Conor Bofin | Author | 3rd November 2017
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You have me thinking now about rabbit. I’ve done the prunes with rabbit too and I need to move on to something different. A friend suggested a pheasant and rabbit stew. It sounds like a plan. All I need is access to a couple of pheasant and a rabbit or two. The birds are now in season here so it should not be a problem. I’ll get on it…
Mad Dog | 31st October 2017
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I’m on my pheasant diet now (with a bit of rabbit thrown in). As you know, it’s pretty cheap here and I’ve seen a couple of butchers doing two for a fiver this week – unbelievable! Oddly, my butcher usually has guinea fowl cheap in the summer – I think the restaurant trade falls off while people are on holiday and there’s a surplus. Great idea to use Parma ham to add fat and flavour to the breast !
Conor Bofin | Author | 3rd November 2017
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Thanks MD. The real bonus is the crispy parma at the end. Really difficult to not eat it like crisps while doing the carving.
Mad Dog | 3rd November 2017
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I use smoked streaky bacon to wrap most game and chicken, which I chop up and mix in the the vegetables at the end, but your chef’s perk is well deserved.
Marty | 31st October 2017
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Oooh! Those parsnips look a treat! I wish they weren’t so hard to find here. I’m not a big game bird gal, unfortunately, but I’m going to try this the next time I pick up a good quality chicken.
Conor Bofin | Author | 3rd November 2017
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Excellent to hear Marty. I am a big fan of quality chicken and really advocate spending the money to get a good quality bird. I plan to do a chicken with the honey mustard glaze too. It will be epic.
Debbie Spivey | 31st October 2017
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Hi Conor! I’ve never had guinea or parsnips. The bird has rainbow like flesh. You always inspire me to try new things. Thank you for that!
Conor Bofin | Author | 3rd November 2017
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Hi Debbie,
Excellent to hear from you. I hope all is happy and healthy in the Mountain Kitchen. Do try this one. You will not regret it.
Eha | 31st October 2017
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Darn it – Ron got ahead of me in saying what was going to come next to my name! Well, you up there in Ireland and Sweden: what chance does a poor gal have if your fingers are busy at sleepy-time here . . . seriously, do not often cook whole chicken but shall make an exception for this . . . love the parsnips and mustard and honey together work on my palate also . . .
Conor Bofin | Author | 3rd November 2017
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Great Eha. It’s a worthy way to cook a chicken, for sure. You could move to the northern hemisphere to solve the first problem!
Best,
Conor
anotherfoodieblogger | 1st November 2017
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You make the most elegant meals, Conor. Very nice and enticing.
Conor Bofin | Author | 3rd November 2017
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Elegant is a stretch. Particularly when the chef/photographer/writer is up to his armpits in grease and sticky goo, trying to get a half decent shot before his dinner goes cold. You know the deal.
Hope you continue your Indian summer into November. Though my Canadian daughter reports Toronto getting a bit wet and cold…
anotherfoodieblogger | 3rd November 2017
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Our Indian Summer has officially ended. Snow in the forecast for tonight.
Michelle | 2nd November 2017
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<3 pintade! And parsnips. Parfait.
Conor Bofin | Author | 3rd November 2017
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Merci. Mon Michelle.
Frank Fariello | 6th November 2017
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That’s a gorgeous looking bird, Conor. I wish it were easier to find poultry other than those antibiotic laden, water pumped “chickens” that populate our supermarkets on this side of the pond.
Conor Bofin | Author | 6th November 2017
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Hi Frank,
You do suffer from the downside of industrial scale food production, for sure. If you are ever in these parts, I am happy to cook some real poultry for you.
I hope all goes well for you.
Best,
C
Rebecca | 6th November 2017
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The colours of that bird are amazing! I’m going to have to track down a guinea fowl to try this recipe! They aren’t commonly available commercially here, but people like to raise them along with their backyard chickens.
Conor Bofin | Author | 7th November 2017
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Hi Rebecca,
Thanks for that. I would imagine that a backyard bred fowl would be really tasty (after it has had a decent innings scratching and enjoying life).
Best,
Conor
Karen | 10th November 2017
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I have eaten guinea fowl and pheasant when traveling in Europe in the fall and like them both. Unfortunately I’ve never see one in our market, even duck can only be bought frozen. Your meal sounds especially good and I agree that it must be hard not to eat the crispy parma ham while waiting on the bird to finish. 🙂
Conor Bofin | Author | 14th November 2017
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Not eating the ham is what we call “the problem to have”. It’s a pity about the availability with you. however, it’s just one more reason to visit us here in Ireland.
Best,
C
FrugalHausfrau | 17th November 2017
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So it all looks amazing, Conor, but you had me at parsnips. I don’t know what it is but I’m wild about them. And rutabagas but that’s a different story. We can buy Guinea fowl here but as far as I know, you’d have to visit one of the farms that produce them. Pheasant is commonly hunted and I grew up on it, but haven’t had any for ages.
Conor Bofin | Author | 18th November 2017
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Thanks Frau,
I suggest a visit to the Guinea fowl farm. It was pretty tasty indeed. I hope all is good with you.
Best as ever,
C
FrugalHausfrau | 20th November 2017
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🙂 You, too Conor. It might be a fun adventure.