Recipe Rosemary Brined Guinea Hen Food

GUINEA HEN CROSTONE

Steps:

• *Note: You'll probably have to buy guinea hen whole legs rather than thighs. In this case, cut the drumsticks off and make a stock with them, just as you would a chicken stock. Use in the recipe instead of chicken stock. With a clean kitchen towel or paper towel, pat the guinea thighs dry. Season them with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Dredge in the flour and pat off all excess flour. Meanwhile, heat a large (12-inch) saute pan over medium heat for one minute, and then add the olive oil. It should be hot but not smoking by the time you are done flouring the guinea thighs. Brown the thighs, skin side down first, adjusting the heat and adding more oil so that the meat sizzles at a nice pace. Cook until golden, 2 to 3 minutes, and then turn the meat and cook another minute or two to color the other side. If your pan is small, cook the thighs in two batches. Transfer the thighs to a plate. You will now need a 4-quart straight sided saute pan or an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. This pan should be wide enough to have the thigh pieces fit in single layer and deep enough to hold at least 4 quarts of liquid (a stock pot will work in a pinch). Put this pan over medium-high heat. Add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the pancetta and sweat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and sweat for another five minutes or so, so that the onions are soft and translucent. Add the rosemary, sage, and a small pinch of pepper. (The pancetta should add enough salt to the sauce so don't worry about salting yet.) Sweat for one more minute. Add the wine, 4 cups of the stock, livers, capers, vinegar, and lemon juice. Add the reserved guinea thighs and bring the braise to a simmer. There should be well more liquid than is needed to cover the meat. This is a good thing, as this dish is all about having plenty of sauce and it will reduce as you cook it. Simmer until the guinea is fork-tender and the meat pulls away from the bone easily, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Carefully remove the thighs and reserve on a plate. Turn up the heat and boil the sauce, stirring from time to time to make sure it isn't sticking and burning, until it reduces by half. To thicken it slightly, use a blender to puree 1 cup of the reduced sauce and add it back to the pan. Stir and taste for seasoning. Add a couple drops of lemon juice if needed. Salt is probably not needed, but use your judgment for final seasoning. The dish can be made up to this point a day ahead. To finish, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the bread slices in a small baking dish that has been generously coated with olive oil. Ladle the remaining 1 cup of stock evenly over all of the bread. Set two thighs on each slice, skin side up. Toast in the oven until the bread has turned a crispy golden brown on the bottom, about 10 minutes; use a spatula to check and be careful as the toast tends to stick. Reheat the sauce. Remove the thighs from the toasts, and carefully remove the crostones from the pan and turn them over so that the brown side is up.
• To plate, set one slice of toast on each plate. Remove the thigh bone from the meat and place the meat from two thighs on each toast. Spoon some of the warmed sauce over each thigh and a little more to run off the crostone. Garnish with celery leaf (inner yellow leaves only), Italian parsley leaf, and long strips of lemon zest. This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

ROAST GUINEA HEN

Steps:

• Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Place the guinea hen in a large, deep bowl, pour the marinade over and inside the hen, cover the bowl, and marinate, refrigerated, overnight, turning occasionally to ensure that all parts of the bird are covered.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove the hen from the marinade. Reserve the marinade. Put the hen in a roasting pan and brush with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Turn the hen breastside down in the pan and roast for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the hen onto its back, decrease the oven temperature to 325 degrees, and roast for 1 hour. While the hen is roasting, place the reserved marinade in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and reduce to approximately 1/4 cup. When the hen has 15 minutes left to cook, pour the reduced marinade over the hen and return it to the oven for its final 15 minutes of cooking. Remove from the oven, and let the hen rest for 10 or 15 minutes before dividing into serving portions.

ROAST GUINEA HEN WITH GRILLED RADICCHIO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Pat guinea hen dry and season generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Put garlic, rosemary and lemon slices inside the bird's cavity. Tie legs together. Leave at room temperature for at least an hour (or refrigerate overnight and bring to room temperature).
• Put a rack in a roasting pan, and place bird on its side on the rack. Drape pancetta strips, if using, over bird. Roast, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then turn the bird on its other side and roast 20 minutes more. (Remove and reserve pancetta when crisp, about 20 minutes into roasting. Chop and sprinkle over for final garnish.) Turn the bird breast side up and roast for a final 20 minutes, or until juice run clear when thickest part of the thigh is probed. Baste well with pan juices at each stage. Let rest in a warm place at least 15 minutes before carving. Spoon pan juices over the meat.
• For the grilled radicchio, place a stove top grill over medium-high heat. Cut radicchio into 8 wedges. Season with salt and pepper and paint lightly with olive oil. Grill wedges for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until well colored and crisped. Alternatively, grill radicchio under the broiler.

ROASTED GUINEA HEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the guinea hen in an iron skillet large enough for it to fit or in a heavy roasting dish. (Enameled cast iron is best.) Using your hands, rub 2 teaspoons of the olive oil all over the bird, inside and out. Season again all over with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with thyme leaves. Scatter the garlic cloves around the pan.
• Place in the oven and roast 15 minutes. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and roast, basting every 10 minutes with pan drippings, until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 160 degrees; this should take 40 to 50 minutes.
• Remove the hen from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Drain excess fat (leaving some!) from the pan and place over medium-high heat. Pour in the chicken broth. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the pan drippings and bring to a boil. Reduce until the sauce is syrupy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cut the hen into 6 pieces and pour the juices from the cutting board back into the sauce. Serve on a platter and pass the sauce with a big spoon.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Pat hens dry with paper towels. Season cavities lightly with salt and pepper. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 rosemary sprig in cavity of each hen. Rub hens with 1 tablespoon oil. Season outside of hens lightly with salt and pepper. Arrange in heavy large roasting pan. Scatter garlic around hens.
• Roast hens 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Pour wine, broth and remaining 2 tablespoons oil over hens. Continue roasting until hens are golden brown and juices run clear when thigh is pierced at thickest part, basting every 10 minutes with pan juices, about 25 minutes longer.
• Transfer hens to platter, pouring any juices from cavity into roasting pan. Tent hens with foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic to heavy medium saucepan. Boil until reduced to sauce consistency, about 6 minutes.
• Cut hens in half lengthwise. Arrange on plates. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens. Garnish with additional rosemary sprigs and serve.