Peacock Re: [Sca-cooks] larding turkeys and other meats

[KazOShea at aol.com]

In a message dated 9/15/2003 8:13:02 AM Central Standard Time, 
jenne at fiedlerfamily.net writes:

> So, is it worth it to make peacock? Are there good recipes? How many
> peacocks would I need so that everyone at a 40-60 person feast would get a
> taste?
> 

I have seen on one or two recipes in period for peacock and it involved 
skinning it so that it cold all be pulled forward in one piece, feathers and all, 
to just over the head and then spit roasting it until done and then puilling 
the skin back over the bird. I was thinking that it would look really pretty, 
but not food safe by our standards.

I did talk to someone that did attend a "peacock banquet" they had brought in 
one of the top chefs in the midwest to cook these birds. He tried everything 
to cook these farm raised peacocks. And according to the person that attended, 
the best taste he could get out of it was similar in texture to a very fatty 
gristly porkchop.

Peacock was a status dish, it was eaten because you could afford to eat it, 
not because you enjoy eating it. Very similar to eating swan, only the royalty 
could eat swan because it was a royal bird ( at least in England). And from 
what I have been given to understand with similiar results, not very good 
tasting.

It may be an intiguing experiment to get one, if you can get it affordably. 
If you cannot I would don't.

my two cents...

Iago