Peafowl, Larded and Roasted
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
Lard the peafowl's breast and legs with bacon slices.
If desired, fill the bird with forcemeat.
Truss the peafowl firmly.
Roast and serve
Roast the bird in a clear oven for 1 to 1.5 hours, depending on its size.
Remove the buttered paper from around the head before serving.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Peafowl
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooking into tender meat.
- Bacon slices
- Adds fat that keeps the lean breast and legs moist and flavourful while roasting.
- Forcemeat
- Fills the cavity, adding moisture and richness to the meat around it.
- Butter
- Covers the bird, adding fat that helps keep the surface from drying out.
The step that matters
Roasting time. A young peafowl is lean and can dry out quickly. Roasting for the stated time, adjusted to the bird's size, helps the meat cook through while staying juicy.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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