Food glossary

Various meat

Guinea fowl

Guinea fowl are medium-sized birds, originally from Guinea on the west African coast. They have a slightly dry flesh and a subtle game flavour that is similar to that of partridge. Guinea fowl tend to be cooked as game, although they are reared as poultry. Whole free-range guinea fowl, naturally reared in the Loire Valley in France, are available from Waitrose. One guinea fowl serves 2-3.

Uses: Guinea fowl are best roasted.

To store: Keep in the fridge in the original wrapping, below and away from cooked foods and any ready to eat food. Store until the use by date. To freeze, freeze on the day of purchase for up to 1 month. To defrost, remove from the original packaging and place on a plate or tray and cover. Defrost thoroughly in the bottom of the fridge, below and away from cooked foods and any ready to eat food, before cooking. Never re-freeze raw meat that has been frozen and then thawed. Wash work surfaces, chopping boards, utensils and hands thoroughly after touching raw poultry.

To prepare: Remove all packaging. Guinea fowl are quite lean and should be basted during cooking to prevent them from drying out. They can also be wrapped in streaky bacon before roasting.

To cook: Preheat the oven to 230oC, gas mark 8. Place the guinea fowl in a roasting tin and roast for 15 minutes per 500g plus 15 minutes. Cook thoroughly until the juices run clear when pierced with a fork and there is no pink meat. Do not reheat once cooled. Cool any leftovers to room temperature, refrigerate within 2 hours and consume within 2 days.