Thread: Anyone hunted and eaten wild peacock?

As I type this I am watching a flock of wild peacock wandering around the neighbors property. I have permission to shoot on their land and was thinking of taking a couple of birds.

What does wild peacock taste like? Is it worth my time?

I think they can be a bit like turkeys (ie certain times of the year the flavour can be infulenced by what they eat), have seen plenty of videos about cooking them up eating them in curries as they can be a bit tough. I'd certainly give them a crack

Good eating, I just breast them. Bit of cook and cook or what ever seasoning you like
They are a bit harder to hunt then a turkey, I think we ended up with twenty last time I had a crack at them

I think @Flyblown has experience shooting them, impeccable eyesight and very quickly educated once under hunting pressure. ie; shoot one and you'll struggle to get in range again without being very cunning, Good fun though

Breast them and cook thin steaks hot and fast. Find where they roost and spotlight them out of the tree

My school mate used to bring drumsticks to school all the time, A bit tough/dry similar to turkey but I like that. They used to roost in the trees above the farm track and he would just jump up, grab their legs and pull them down. Usually they'd break their necks instantly.

I shot one about March, thought it might be best slow cooked at low temp. Was so tough it was inedible. Don't think I will bother again unless someone has a fool proof recipe.

I've eaten them a lot. I usually bone the birds out, mince the meat and use it for patties. It's nice and I've always found it to be mild. It is part of the pheasant family ater all...

Originally Posted by bumblefoot

I've eaten them a lot. I usually bone the birds out, mince the meat and use it for patties. It's nice and I've always found it to be mild. It is part of the pheasant family ater all...

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Great idea, the last feral turkeys I shot I did the same thing, minced the lot with some bacon, garlic, breadcrumbs and egg it made the most wonderful turkey burgers.

Yes Danny is right, there sense of danger is second to none. They are worth the effort though. Before turkeys were introduced to Europe these and guinea fowl were the go to birds reared commercially for meat. If your neighbor or you for that matter have an orchard that's the time to get them.

I normally stir fry peafowl when I eat it, cook all your vegetables and sauce together, then get another pan hot as hell and fry the diced fowl, add together and enjoy. Or if you have some bacon, grind up the bacon and peafowl to make burgers.

Long and slow is not your friend with gamebirds in my opinion. I tried to slow roast a whole bird, it came out dry and horrible, but the dog enjoyed it (I removed the bones from the dogs portion). Fast and hot is the best.

good luck with the hunting, if you get some juveniles in tight scrub with a dog its some of the best fun wing shooting I've had.

I’ve eaten them several different ways from slow cooked hot curry, steaming, roasting, stir fried, minced. If the meat is fresh and un-aged / unhung then generally speaking it will be bland and tough compared to a supermarket chicken. The curry works well but I really had to cook the hell out of it, steaming was basically a disaster, roasting was kinda meh but doable. The stirfry I didn’t cook and the pheasant was one of several different meats in the dish and it didn’t really stand out.

I like the mince option the best - I had a GameBird Burger a little while ago that was a mix of peacock, pheasant, turkey and feral chickens. They were well prepared and aged in the fridge, and prepped with generous seasoning. It was really REALLY good. My buddy that makes these burgers often adds minced rabbit as well. After that experience that’s what I have decided we are going to do with our next peacock cull, plus there’s gazillions of pheasants around here so a few of them too. I will dry age the meat in my soon-to-be-constructed game fridge for a week before mincing. (I’ve got the fridge and just need the wire racks and the fan now.)

For roasting, you really should hang the birds for at least a week in the chiller then its much better. 8°C or close to, not too cold. I have not eaten pheasant or peacock has been hung in warm air until it starts to rot - that’s for mediaeval peasants. Not brave enough for that. That particular line in the sand comes from growing up in the country in Sussex and kicking around with my grandpa’s elderly mates who were mostly fairly disgusting and revelled in eating very smelly gamebirds, complete with a side of lead shot. (And, notably, the occasional roadkill roast.)

Originally Posted by Flyblown

I’ve eaten them several different ways from slow cooked hot curry, steaming, roasting, stir fried, minced. If the meat is fresh and un-aged / unhung then generally speaking it will be bland and tough compared to a supermarket chicken. The curry works well but I really had to cook the hell out of it, steaming was basically a disaster, roasting was kinda meh but doable. The stirfry I didn’t cook and the pheasant was one of several different meats in the dish and it didn’t really stand out.

I like the mince option the best - I had a GameBird Burger a little while ago that was a mix of peacock, pheasant, turkey and feral chickens. They were well prepared and aged in the fridge, and prepped with generous seasoning. It was really REALLY good. My buddy that makes these burgers often adds minced rabbit as well. After that experience that’s what I have decided we are going to do with our next peacock cull, plus there’s gazillions of pheasants around here so a few of them too. I will dry age the meat in my soon-to-be-constructed game fridge for a week before mincing. (I’ve got the fridge and just need the wire racks and the fan now.)

For roasting, you really should hang the birds for at least a week in the chiller then its much better. 8°C or close to, not too cold. I have not eaten pheasant or peacock has been hung in warm air until it starts to rot - that’s for mediaeval peasants. Not brave enough for that. That particular line in the sand comes from growing up in the country in Sussex and kicking around with my grandpa’s elderly mates who were mostly fairly disgusting and revelled in eating very smelly gamebirds, complete with a side of lead shot. (And, notably, the occasional roadkill roast.)

@dannyb @Marty Henry ya'll aint wrong with them being danger adverse. Took my son out for a walk and struggled to get within 100m of them before they buggered off. Probs doesn't help that there is a falcon circling overhead too

@Flybrown wonder how it would fare being pressure cooked? Last year the wife and I did a mid winter Christmas dinner and pressure cooker then air fried a whole turkey. We brined it for 3 days and it was the best tasting turkey I've ever had. Super moist and full of flavor. Albeit a store bought turkey...

they can run 30kmph to avoid being squashed under front of fert truck !!!!!! surprised me how quick they can go...looked funny as hell,like a road runner cartoon.

Originally Posted by dannyb

I think @Flyblown has experience shooting them, impeccable eyesight and very quickly educated once under hunting pressure. ie; shoot one and you'll struggle to get in range again without being very cunning, Good fun though

there was eposide of hunting with tui.....the ywere with guy culling them up north and using feathers ,sold them all over the place,even exporting I believe.... method of dispatch was .22lr up trees with spotlight.....too easy.