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Broiled Guinea Fowls
Pluck, singe and draw two or three Guinea fowls, wash them thoroughly, and split down the backs; wipe dry and flatten them slightly. Dust, salt and pepper over both sides, dip them in flour, and put them on a gridiron over a clear fire. Brush over frequently with a little butter, and when they have been cooking for about fifteen minutes, put them on a dish, pour over a rich gravy, and garnish with mashed potatoes.
A spatchcocked bird over coals, written when kitchens bought poultry whole and feathered. The only real problem is the timing.
- Fifteen minutes is not enoughA split guinea fowl of 2 to 2 1/2 lb needs roughly 30 to 40 minutes over moderate coals, turning, and the thickest part of the thigh should read 165F. The original figure suits a very small bird over a fierce fire, or a cook who finished it in the oven without saying so.
- A clear fireCoals burned down to a steady glow with no flame and no smoke. Flour and butter over open flame will flare; set the birds over the edge of the coals rather than the middle, skin side up first.
- GridironA hinged wire grill or the grate of a charcoal grill. A cast-iron ridged pan over medium heat, with a weight on top of the birds, gives a comparable result indoors.
- Pluck, singe and drawCleaning a bird from the feather. Buy it dressed; if any pinfeathers remain, pass the skin briefly over a gas flame. "Draw" means remove the innards, which are worth keeping for the gravy.
- Split down the backsWhat is now called spatchcocking. Cut through the back so the bird opens out, and press it down so it lies reasonably level on the grate; the recipe asks only that they be flattened slightly.
- The flourA light dusting only, shaken off well. Guinea fowl is lean and its skin thin, so heavy flour plus butter scorches before the thighs are through.
- A rich gravyNo recipe is given. A reduction of brown stock with the giblets, finished with butter, would suit.
- YieldTwo or three birds of this size serve four to six, allowing half a bird each.
Guinea fowl is native to Africa and reached later European tables largely through Portuguese traders, and cookbooks often treated it as an intermediate between poultry and game: darker and firmer than chicken, milder than true game birds. That in-between quality may be part of why it appears in a hotel book, where the kitchen wanted something more interesting than chicken and available year round rather than only in season, since guineas were farmed rather than shot. Broiling small birds split over coals was common hotel practice in the period, run off the grill to order and sent out under gravy, and mashed potatoes were a frequent garnish on such plates.