19th December 2011
Pot-Roast Guinea Fowl & Lobster with Tarragon Butter Sauce by Hefin Roberts
Hefin Roberts, head chef of Ye Olde Bulls Head Inn in Anglesey, created this wonderful poultry and shellfish dish served with tarragon butter sauce for Britain's Best Dish.
Serves 4
For the pot-roast guinea fowl
200g smoked bacon rashers
2 whole guinea fowl, wings and legs jointed
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 leek, trimmed and chopped
2 celery sticks, trimmed and chopped
1 garlic bulb, peeled and chopped
2 sprigs of thyme, leaves chopped
Knob of butter
500ml chicken stock
50ml double cream
For the potatoes
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm-thick slices
Splash of olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
25g thyme leaves, chopped
Knob of butter
For the tarragon butter sauce
170g butter
15ml white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg yolk
15g tarragon, finely chopped
For the lobsters
2 whole live lobsters, about 675g each
For the vegetables
10 Chantenay carrots, finely chopped
125g shelled peas
To finish
100g baby leaf spinach
Knob of butter
1. For the pot-roast guinea fowl, first trim the fat off the bacon and fry the fat in a pan. Reserve the bacon. Pan fry the guinea fowl wings and legs in the bacon fat, along with the vegetables, garlic and thyme, for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Cover with the stock and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C (Gas 4). Strain off the stock from the meat, vegetables and herbs, then return the liquid to the pan. Place the guinea fowl crowns in a roasting tin, cover with foil and put in the oven to cook for about 40 minutes until cooked through.
3. For the potatoes, sauté the potatoes in oil over a medium heat, add the garlic, onion and thyme together with a little butter and seal for about 5 minutes until coloured on both sides. Transfer the potatoes to a roasting tin and cook in the oven for about 20 minutes until golden.
4. To make the tarragon butter sauce, put the butter in a pan and heat very gently until the butter separates, the oil rising and the butter solids staying on the bottom. Remove from the heat. In a separate pan, heat the vinegar and reduce it by half. Put the egg yolk in a metal bowl, add the vinegar and whisk until pale and frothy. Season with salt and pepper and then slowly pour in the oil from the top of the clarified butter (discarding the solids left in the pan). Finish with the tarragon. Keep warm.
5. To cook the lobsters, drop them in a large pan of boiling water. Cook rapidly for 5 minutes, then drain and place in a roasting tin. Cover tightly with cling film and set aside.
6. For the vegetables, bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the carrots and peas for about 4 minutes until al dente. Refresh in cold water and set aside.
7. Chop the reserved bacon and sauté until crispy.
8. To finish, remove the guinea fowl from the oven and seal them in butter in a hot pan to colour well. Let them rest for a minute or two. Transfer some of the stock into a pan, boil to reduce and then add the cream and reduce further. Season with salt and pepper. Take the tail pieces and claws off the lobsters, crack open and discard the shells.
9. To serve, sauté the spinach in a small amount of butter for about 2 minutes to wilt. Transfer to warmed plates and top with a piece of potato. Slice the guinea fowl in half and place on the potato. Lay half a lobster tail next to the potato together with a claw, then add the vegetables and bacon pieces and spoon the tarragon butter over the lobster.
If you've eaten at Ye Olde Bull's Head Inn, send The Good Food Guide your feedback!
Hefin's recipe from Britain's Best Dish - The Chefs, along with the other 112 recipes featured in the show, can be found in the sumptuous new recipe book Britain's Best Dish - The Chefs.