Guinea Fowl Meat
Guinea fowl meat is often called “poor man’s pheasant” because it tastes similar to pheasant, at considerably less cost. And even though it sells for about half the price of pheasant, guinea is still considered a luxury food. You can find it on the menus of upscale French and Oriental restaurants, especially on the East Coast.
Guinea meat is darker and richer tasting than chicken, and it contains less fat and fewer calories. Guineas are also smaller-boned than chickens, but have heavier breasts, making them meatier than they look. The average bird dresses out to 75 percent of its live weight—five percent more than the 70 percent average for a broiler chicken.
Because a mature hen weighs three pounds and a mature cock weighs four pounds, you can expect a maximum table-ready weight of 2 1/4 to three pounds. Like the meat of chickens and other birds, the meat of a mature guinea cock is not nearly as tasty as the meat of a hen. Because a bird’s breastbone gets stiffer as the bird matures, you can tell a guinea is still prime for eating by the flexibility of its breastbone. Young guinea is the most tender and flavorful of all. The best meat comes from 12-week-old keets weighing about two pounds. The giant guinea, a hybrid developed for the meat market, reaches twice that weight in the same amount of time. Butcher and dress a guinea as you would a chicken. Chill the meat quickly and store it (loosely covered) in the coldest part of the refrigerator for up to two days. If you then wish to freeze the bird to cook later, pack it tightly in plastic wrap and seal it in a plastic bag designed for freezer storage. The meat will keep for six months in the freezer, and up to one week in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator.