Roast guinea fowl is the perfect lighter Sunday lunch for two, and my version pairs it with a simple cider sauce & honey glazed vegetables.
The dish takes around an hour and a half to make but it is very low maintenance, there is minimal preparation and you can chill out for at least an hour of that cooking time.
Roasted Guinea Hen
I have a “thing” for playing around with different ingredients, particularly game birds!
Everything from the obvious whole roast duck to more unusual options like roast pigeon, pheasant casserole and roast partridge makes an appearance here.
I even have a glorious pheasant curry if you are feeling particularly adventurous!
My latest offering is a wonderful roast guinea fowl with honey-glazed vegetables and a simple cider butter sauce.
Cooking for two makes a roast dinner a real challenge unless you have a thing for leftovers (which I don’t), but game birds are a complete game changer… see what I did there?
A whole 1-kilo guinea fowl gives the perfect amount of meat to feed two people as far as I am concerned. As a bonus you also don’t have to fight over the brown and white meat, you get a bit of both.
Like most roast dinners it takes a while to cook, but it is a low-maintenance recipe, with active cooking to time being around 30 minutes. That 30 minutes is pretty much evenly split between prep and finishing the dish.
So if it is new to you hunt some down (Sainsbury’s often has it in the fridge) and give it a try, I love it!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is guinea fowl?
A guinea fowl is a small game bird closely related to a partridge, it has a wonderful but subtle game flavour.
If carefully cooked it is a fantastic moist and tasty meat.
What size bird should I buy?
I usually aim for a bird that is around 900g-1kg, this will generously serve two people.
If you want to cook for more people, resist the urge to buy a larger bird and just roast two side by side!
What sort of cider should I use?
Use any sort of dry cider that you like to drink, I’ve been using Aspall dry cider of late, the floral flavours work really well in a sauce.
A note for my US-based readers, cider here in Europe means booze so use what you guys call hard cider.
Do I have to use a meat thermometer?
No, but I genuinely find mine invaluable for roasting meat and getting it perfectly cooked. They cost very little money and they make cooking meat perfectly much easier and most importantly, repeatable.
If you are buying one be sure to get a quick read thermometer!
Serving Suggestions
I’ve designed this roast guinea fowl recipe to be a complete but light meal. It’s perfect for a Sunday lunch on a summer afternoon for two.
That’s not to say that this dish can not be bulked out to be a proper big slap-up dinner.
The first thing I would add to this dish if I wanted it larger would be potatoes, you could roast potatoes in with the other veggies.
But personally speaking, I would opt for some fondant potatoes for that feel of luxury and indulgence.
If I wanted to increase the greens, I would add some buttered cabbage or some roasted tenderstem broccoli.
Equipment Used
I only name-check brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Stovetop.
- Oven.
- Roasting tin with a trivet or cooling rack.
- Tin foil.
- 18cm or 7″ saucepan.
- 30cm or 12″ frying pan.
- Kitchen knife.
- Chopping board.
- Vegetable peeler.
- Tin foil.
- Whisk.
- Fine mesh sieve.
- Kitchen tongs, stirring and serving spoons.
- A quick read meat thermometer, optional but I swear by mine!
Roast Guinea Fowl Recipe
This roast guinea fowl recipe shines a light on wonderfully tasty and underused meat, the cooking process is simple and the results are so much more interesting than roast chicken.
Ingredients
- 1 Whole (1kg) Guinea Fowl
- 1 Lemon
- 6 Garlic Cloves
- 150g (1 Cup) Onion
- 1 Bay Leaf
- ~500ml (2 Cups) Vegetable Stock
- 100g (1 Cup) Brussels Sprouts
- 150g (1 Cup) Carrots
- 2 Small Parsnips
- 250ml (1 Cup) Dry Cider
- 2 Tbsp (40g) Honey
- 50g (3 Tbsp) Butter
- 1 Tsp Salt
- ½ Tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- Season the guinea fowl inside and out with salt and the cavity with black pepper.
- Pierce the lemon 3 or 4 times with a fork and place in the cavity of the bird.
- Cut the onion into rounds 5-10mm thick (¼-½").
- Bruise the garlic cloves with the side of a knife.
- Scrub the carrots and cut into 5cm (2") lengths.
- Top and tail the parsnips and cut in half, scrubbing if required.
- Add the onion, garlic, bay leaf and stock to a baking tray large enough to hold the guinea fowl and the vegetables.
- Add a trivet or cooling rack then pour in enough vegetable stock to come up to the level of the trivet.
- Place the bird on the trivet, add the parsnips and carrots and create a foil tent over the roasting tin. Roast in the oven for 4½ mins per 100g and then remove the foil and roast for a further 20 mins at a temperature of 180°C or 350°F. This should be around 65 minutes for a 1kg bird.
- Peel any tough or damaged outer leaves from the Brussels sprouts and parboil in well-salted water for 5-7 minutes. Begin this step to finish when you remove the bird from the oven.
- Remove the bird from the oven and place it on a carving board, tent with foil and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. You are looking for an internal temperature of around 65-67°C (150°F) when you remove the bird from the oven, it will continue on to the safe temperature of 73°C or 165°F whilst it is resting.
- Pour the cider into a 18cm or 7" saucepan and reduce it by half. Then add half of the liquid from the roasting tin to the cider and reduce by another third, have a taste and season with salt as required.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a 30cm or 12" frying pan over a high heat and when it begins to foam add the honey and stir until the honey begins to colour, add the drained Brussels sprouts, carrots and parsnips and toss to glaze.
- Just before you are ready to carve the guinea fowl whisk the remaining tablespoon of butter into to sauce.
- Finally, carve the bird and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1123Trans Fat: 0g
Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.
Dannii
Thursday 17th of October 2019
My husband loves trying new meats, so I will have to make this for him.
Brian Jones
Saturday 19th of October 2019
Enjoy :)
georgie
Thursday 17th of October 2019
oh wow! I don't think I've ever seen a Guinea Fowl recipe before, let alone cooked one! This looks so delicious and delicate, love it for a special holiday party.
Brian Jones
Saturday 19th of October 2019
I love showing people new stuff :)