Originally from Africa, guinea fowl (aka Guinea Hens, pintade, faraona, African pheasant) have become a popular roasting bird in France & Italy. Their slightly red meat is lean with an exciting flavor stronger than chicken, pheasant-esque, with some of the richness of duck. There’s a lot of it on each bird, with approximately a 50/50 meat to bone ratio (higher than many other poultry varieties).
These guinea fowl have been air chilled, a method preferred by chefs because it better preserves the bird’s flavor, lets the meat absorb marinades better, doesn’t add water weight, and is more environmentally friendly (produces less contaminated water) than water chilling, which is used for most poultry.
Each whole guinea hen will provide about two servings.