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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?
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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 :thumbsup:
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 :thumbsup:
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...
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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.Quote:
Originally Posted by bumblefoot
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.)
@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 :brzzzzz:Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyblown
@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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by dannyb
Turkeys and peacock can be great eating. My two favourite was is as schnitzel, and as burger patties. With the patties as you mince them add about 10% bacon and then once minced chuck in your favourite mixed herbs etc.
You will do that once and then you will be looking for an excuse to go get more.
They move deceptively fast and duck into scrub as well, you can use a dog to flush them and then shotgun time but finding the roosting tree and spotlighting is easier. Tried the stalking them with a 22 but too hard to get in range. The super can't be arsed being sneaky 22 (223) works well but not for meat recovery.Quote:
Originally Posted by Micky Duck
Used to hunt them regular for a guy who had problems due to numbers, switch on real quick plus hard on bird dogs on retrieve if not dead, made my Lab very hard mouthed, no good for ducks after peacocks. Hunted them in lot of fern country, great with the shotgun.
When it comes to toughmess the problem is that you don't know the age of the bird. It could be young and tender, or old and chewy. That's where mincing them for patties is great. I have been lucky using breasts for schnitzel and stirfry though. But that was because I'm pretty sure they were young birds. The same applies to wild turkeys. When peacocks get switched onto hunting it's like hunting wary deer. I couldn't believe how stealthy and hard to see they are when you bush stalk them... And how they scare the crap out of you when you're sneaking along in the bush in silent mode and they burst out of the tree above you... :D
Really...Quote:
Originally Posted by Micky Duck
Had a tonne on a dairy farm Near Cleavdon. Breasted them out but normally only the hens, gave the Cock's meat away. They can be extremely cunning. I took mine with a shotgun and spotlight in the trees as they could sense me coming a mile away with a gun but ignored me without one.
You can understand why they are so wary, their home territory has plenty to eat them.
We saw a tiger in Nepal and the deer barking and the peacocks squawking is a pretty good indicator.
really........funny as heck it was,I did button off so it could go sideways and escape.Quote:
Originally Posted by outlander
We used to eat semi wild peacock for xmas dinner and it was excellent. This method works for peacock, turkey, goose and is from Heston Blumenthal :
Youngish bird, light brine overnight in 20ltr bucket. Drain and dry off. Brown in pan with a mix of clarified butter and olive oil until golden and crispy skin. Cook in oven bag on bed of Kumara slices or in the case of a goose, on a cake rack to let grease drain away. Cook slow 4-5 hours. Very good, will not disappoint
This is exactly how to "hunt" them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve123
Been on a few culling missions - with a subs in a suppressed .22, you can get 10 birds out of a tree no problem.
Hot & fast - Peacock patties are good, just rolled in crumb like chook.
I really enjoy hunting them over dogs, just like Pheasants.
A few of our pheasant blocks are starting to turn up Peacocks, I look forward to them more than the Pheasants sometimes!
I have found they hold tight and flush really well.
Not bad eating either, normally breast them out and use in stir frys, drumsticks with the thigh left on go alright too
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Originally Posted by makka
They are great fun over a pointing dog.
