Thread: peacock tenderness

I went looking for a last minute dinner idea last night and shot a youngish male peacock

I breasted it and put it in some iced salt water to do a quickish brine before panfrying it in oil with a few herbs and spices.

It was Impressively chewy, and I threw in the towel after only two pieces of it. juicy and ok flavour but chewy as

Im planning on slowly breaking it down in a gravy crockpot style but I still have the other breast in the fridge to use up

My question is, Is Peacock always chewy because they are such a brilliant flyer and they are full of harder tissue?
or do I need to find another way to break this down thru cooking

my first try last night definitely makes me think mincing is all I can hope for

@Friwi

Brown in frying pan then bake in oven bag

Did you over cook it?

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Don't take this as a dig Bill, but how old are you?
Is there a chance your jaw is not a strong as it once was?

I only suggest this because I would take meat to my dad and as he got older (eighties) he started complaining about meat being chewy. I would have dinner with him occasionally and the meat he thought was tough was actually quite tender. I put it down to him loosing his strength.

Im 34 so maybe its just time to send me to the glue factory

Originally Posted by MB

Did you over cook it?

I cooked it what I would call "perfect" for a poultry breast still moist as can be
4 min one side 3 minutes the other, just like the youtube video told me to as I was cooking it
still tons of juice and I rested it for 5min as well

I feel like I need to try a pukeko to see if its even near as rubbery

the animal was a youngish male that was still a rising animal, small tail as well as not quite but nearly full size
what I "thought" would be a good eater

even if It was half as chewey as that one was It would still be far to chewey to be enjoyed by humans

it did get me thinking tho, they come from india and Iv never seen an indian person eating, cooking or hunting them
maybe this is the bird for looking at and I should be eating the turks instead

@Inder @lnder any chance you could shed some light to if or how they get eaten over there?

Originally Posted by MB

Did you over cook it?

Did you kill it first?

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Oh sorry.
But think about my theory when you get old.

You can bet on it I winge at the first grain of sand in my paua and cream haha


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Originally Posted by outlander

Did you kill it first?

Yeah I head shot it with the 22
It hadn’t been dead for more than two hours by the time it was cooked so I’m wondering if that it needs more time to relax post Mortem


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Hung by the neck until it drops off was the old English way.

Originally Posted by Bill999

@Inder @lnder any chance you could shed some light to if or how they get eaten over there?

Peacock is Indian National bird and there is severe punishment if one found killing it so you will not find many people sharing peacock recipes

Having said that Indians will cook it as we cook any other meat. Put in a pressure cooker with masalas and cook the s$it out of it until meat start falling off the bones.

Originally Posted by Bill999

I cooked it what I would call "perfect" for a poultry breast still moist as can be
4 min one side 3 minutes the other, just like the youtube video told me to as I was cooking it
still tons of juice and I rested it for 5min as well

I wasn't being a dick, this is my new duck breast recipe which works very well. Maybe it'll work for pheasant.

• Score skin
• Heavily season with salt and pepper
• Fry in pan with butter for 1 minute each side
• Place in oven skin side down for 8 minutes at 200C
• Rest for 5 minutes
• Cut across grain

Originally Posted by Inder

Having said that Indians will cook it as we cook any other meat. Put in a pressure cooker with masalas and cook the shit out of it until meat start falling off the bones.

Seems to work for most game meats

Originally Posted by MB

I wasn't being a dick, this is my new duck breast recipe which works very well. Maybe it'll work for pheasant.

• Score skin
• Heavily season with salt and pepper
• Fry in pan with butter for 1 minute each side
• Place in oven skin side down for 8 minutes at 200C
• Rest for 5 minutes
• Cut across grain

Didn’t even sense any Ill intent, I was considering finishing it in the oven but was hoping it would be at least acceptable out of the pan

It crossed my mind I should beat it like a paua so if worse comes to worst I’ll give that a try


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