SC - swans, eel and peacocks, oh

[Philip W. Troy]

MS MARTHA L WALLENHORST wrote:

> Remember when
> doing a peacock that it needs to roast slowly for many, many hours in
> rose water and tightly covered.  It is quite wonderful.  If I
> remember correctly The last time I bought one it was $25 for the bird
> and $5 for cold shipping UPS.
> 
> Annejke

This would stand to reason, actually. Recipes for roasting peacocks (and
to a lesser extent, swans) mention that they need to be larded, which is
actually introducing added fat in strips into the meat itself, not just
wrapping the meat in fat or basting it. This would seem an argument that
the meat would otherwise be tough and dry. Taillevent mentions that
peacocks will keep for a month, cooked, in the larder, another
indication of dryness.

This is not to say, though, that they couldn't be quite tasty, in spite
of what some people have said.

Adamantius