Thread: peacock tenderness

I either schnitzel the breast with a meat hammer or I cut the breast into small chunks and fry all the veggies and sauce and then chuck the meat in until just cooked. Not sure I would want to just fry a breast in a pan and have a go at that.
Pukeko is a highly under rated meat, slice thinly and fry in a pan as hot as you can make it, cook until blue (medium rare at most) and enjoy. Don't forget a a sprinkle of salt.

pukeko goes well in crockpot too....
peacock is supposedly one of the best game birds to eat....MAYBE you are on to reason with the not aged at all thing.....headshot means zero gut contamination so keeping other breast in fridge for a couple of days should pose no problems...just keep it up out of any blood.
if you have lots of them,its almost criminal to not find out what works best....peacock salami...now there is a food sure to have the piss taken out of it at any excuse.

Cut medallions across the breast. About 8mm thick. Sear on a high heat for buggerall each side.

Originally Posted by Steve123

Cut medallions across the breast. About 8mm thick. Sear on a high heat for buggerall each side.

this is how my nabour does it

small medellions drop them in coat and cook and fry in a pan
there are a ton of hungry kiddos over there he feeds with it that rave about it

@Bill999

The last time we cooked peacock breasts, we cleaned them thoroughly and vacuum packed and put them in the fridge for 10 days or so. Opened the packets early one morning, everything was fine, so very briefly browned them in hot oil, then into the slow cooker with mild green curry sauce, coconut milk thinned slightly. Left it on low all day (10hrs?). Came home added some fresh spinach, chives, coriander and ten minutes later… ta da! Bloody delicious, tender as.

So, in short, ageing and slow cooking.

@Bill999 I've tried a couple of times and neither has been successful, tried to cook it like chicken and it was terrible. Pukeko on the other hand was delicious, cooked some breast up on the bbq last opening. Couldn't believe it.

Originally Posted by charliehorse

@Bill999 I've tried a couple of times and neither has been successful, tried to cook it like chicken and it was terrible. Pukeko on the other hand was delicious, cooked some breast up on the bbq last opening. Couldn't believe it.

I hear people mistake it for venison
I find it rather hard to believe that, so id better give it a schoolboy try

Originally Posted by Bill999

I hear people mistake it for venison
I find it rather hard to believe that, so id better give it a schoolboy try

I wouldn't have bothered but the mates youg fulla was cooking up anything that came in the maimai.....hot grill, salt and pepper

Originally Posted by charliehorse

I wouldn't have bothered but the mates youg fulla was cooking up anything that came in the maimai.....hot grill, salt and pepper

Iv been considering it for my entire life but have always been fed the "cook it with a rock or leather boot, then throw away the pook and eat the rock or boot"

It is just a big pheasant after all. Mum had tame(ish) ones that we ate for Christmas dinners etc. Plucked, hung, browned in pan to colour and roasted in an oven bag for at least four hours at 140 - 150 until time and heat has broken down the collagen fibres. Push on the flesh through the bag to test when it is tender and ready to serve. Same with a goose, but brine them overnight in a light brine first then rinse and dry before pan browning.
Puks are tasty but the leg bones splinter everywhere and ruin the dish when cooked so dont stew or soup the leg bones !

Last time I did peacock Breast, I sliced them horizontally so as to be heaven , completely cover them with Dijon mustard.
Pan fried them with a bit of olive oil, finished with a bit of liquid cream and mushrooms ( cooked beforehand).
The strength of the Dijon mustard disappears during the cooking.

That makes 2 of us haha i got the brick though

Gas hangi it for 3 hours - steaming means it cant dry out at all and if its still tough after 3 hours give it a few more until it falls apart...

Originally Posted by Bill999

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

I was scrolling through old threads and found this. Not sure on the science behind it but including baking soda in a marinade for tough meat makes it a lot less chewy.

I've only used it in a Thai goose breast marinade (for thin strips of breast) and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between rump or the goose breast.

Definitely worth a go for any other tough cuts too.

Hahaha sorry I've been laughing over this and the comments.

I don't have any suggestions except for maybe the time frame from live to cooked.... do you need to hang it for a day or two before cooking it?