Breezy Grilled Guinea Hen with Lemon, Garlic and Oregano

Wonderful meal tonight using a D'Artagnan Guinea Fowl & adapting one of their online recipes. Will definitely be making this again, even if I just use chicken.

Breezy Grilled Guinea Hen with Lemon, Garlic and Oregano

(Adapted from D’Artagnan)


Serves 2-4

Ingredients

  • 1 guinea hen (2.5-3-pounds)
  • 4 whole cloves garlic, peeled & roughly chopped
  • 1/3 cup dry white wine (Chablis or Pinot Grigio work well)
  • Juice from 3 lemons
  • 2 tablespoons fresh oregano or 1 tablespoon dried
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, leaves only, slightly chopped
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Directions
  1. Light a grill with all coals to just one side until medium-hot.
  2. Place the garlic, white wine, lemon juice, oregano, thyme and black pepper in a blender or food processor and blend until a mostly-smooth puree forms. Some garlic pieces left are okay. Add the olive oil and blend to combine. Taste for salt/pepper and adjust seasoning.
  3. Remove giblet packet from bird (I cook these up the next day for the furry gang), rinse bird thoroughly inside & out, & place on a sturdy board or plate, breast-side down. Using a sturdy pair of kitchen shears (metal poultry shears are really meant for cooked birds), cut down one side of the backbone & gently press on the bird to flatten it. Turn bird over & gently press again. Bird doesn’t have to be flat as a board, just generally flattened out.
  4. Using your hands, thoroughly oil the bird with olive oil on both sides, and season with salt and pepper. Place the bird meat/open-side down over the hottest part of grill, and sear for around 5 minutes.
  5. Baste bird with basting mixture & turn the bird over, skin-side-up. Baste again and move to the cooler part of the grill, but still close to the coals. Close grill cover.
  6. Return & baste every 10 minutes or so, & check bird temp until a thermometer inserted into the breast reads 160 degrees or so and the thigh meat reads 175 or so degrees. Let the bird rest at least 10 minutes before quartering.
  7. Using good poultry shears, cut the cooked fowl into 4 pieces and serve. Bird will easily serve 4 people with multiple sides, or 2 people with leftovers for another meal.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Breezy, where did you get the guinea hen?

I don't think I've ever seen it in the stores around here.

Does it taste like chicken? Turkey? Neither?

Lee
 

luvs

'lil Chef
Gold Site Supporter
lee, it's similar to cornish hen. though usually weighs less than one. it's an immature chix, & weighs in at about a pound-
 
Sorry luvs, but you're thinking of something else. "Guinea Fowl" (aka "Guinea Hen") is NOT an "immature chix", it's a TOTALLY different bird native to Africa but domesticated worldwide. Look them up - they're very odd but interesting birds, somewhat football-shaped with multicolored naked-skinned heads & necks. Since they're really not well-suited to confinement, retaining a somewhat wild personality, they're raised free-range & thus have a slightly gamier taste than chicken. But not so gamey that anyone wouldn't like the flavor. Think chicken with a difference you can't put your finger on. The weights I've found run between 2-1/2 to 3 pounds.

Lee, I've frequently found frozen Guinea hens in upscale supermarkets & small gourmet markets. Our local Wegman's carries the D'Artagnan brand (great stuff), & some local gourmet markets carry birds from local farms. In addition, I frequently buy them online directly from D'Artagnan - http://www.dartagnan.com/?CMCID=SEM_B_Brand_Brand. The quality is excellent, & they frequently run sales that make prices reasonable. Worthwhile to get on their e-mail mailing list.

In the "spotlight" you did on me recently, I'm pretty sure there's a pic of a Guinea Hen/Fowl I roasted last year. :)
 
Oh - one more thing. If you do manage to find Guinea Fowl locally, it will most likely be frozen. Be sure to examine the bird carefully, because since many folks are unfamiliar with them, there isn't a whole lot of turnover & you don't want to buy something freezer-burned. That's why I've only purchased fresh birds from local markets. Both fresh & frozen birds directly from D'Artagnan have always been good.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Thanks, Breezy! I will see if Trader Joe's has it - they have things that my regular supermarket doesn't carry.

I found your picture, too!

Lee
 

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That was the first time I'd ever cooked Guinea Fowl. It was a fresh one from D'Artagnon that I bought during one of their many sales.

The bird weighed between 3 & 3-1/2 pounds, & felt heavy for it's size. The build of these birds can sometimes be almost knife narrow, and because it's VERY lean meat & has almost no fat under the skin, some areas of the raw bird look bluish because you can see the meat right through most of the skin. Mostly white meat, with dark relegated to the legs like a chicken. But that's where the resemblance stops.

Everything turned out. . . . FABULOUS!! I was SO pleased, since I'm always nervous when I cook something for the very first time. The garlic/fresh herbs/lemon juice/wine I basted it with really did it's stuff, & the bird (air-chilled fresh - had never been frozen) was crispy-skinned, moist, & juicy with zero fat. Amazing stuff.

Flavor was EXCELLENT, but difficult to describe. Husband said the closest he could get would be "robust chicken", but also agreed with me that in a blind taste test, no one would guess it was chicken. Quite un-chicken-like. All I can say is Guinea Fowl tastes like, well, Guinea Fowl - lol!! I definitely recommend that you try it if you ever get the chance. Again - anyone who enjoys chicken would enjoy Guinea Fowl.

I roasted it for around an hour & 20 minutes @ 350 degrees, basting every 10 minutes for the last 40 minutes, surrounded by halved tiny baby red potatoes, & baby colored (orange, yellow, red, purple) carrots.
 
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