Hay-baked poultry

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 4 people, you will need:

• 1 100 g hay
• 2 1 whole bird (chicken, duck etc.)
• 3 salt
• 4 pepper
• Total weight: 1,900 grams

Times:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
25 min.	4 hours	4 hours 25 min.

Step by step recipe

1	Flatten 100 g hay slightly into a mat.
2	Salt and pepper your choice of bird (a guinea fowl here) both inside and out. Put into a roasting bag.
3	Slip the hay underneath the bird. Seal the bag.
4	Put the wrapped bird in an oven-proof dish or on a baking sheet.
5	Cook in the oven at 280°F (140°C) for 4 hours. Turn the bag upside down halfway through.
6	After this time, take the dish out, but leave the oven on.
7	Pour all the cooking juices from the bag into a bowl.
8	Tip out the contents of the bag onto a baking sheet.
9	Remove and discard the hay.
10	Pull the meat off the bones. This should be very easy after such long cooking.
11	Discard the bones and skin and transfer the meat to an oven-proof dish as you go.
12	Pour the cooking juices over and put back in the oven to keep hot until serving.
13	Serve with your choice of vegetables, rice or pasta, as you prefer.

Remarks

If you don't have a roasting bag, use something like a cast-iron casserole with a lid which can go in the oven.
You might find hay in an organic shop these days, but the best way to get it is to ask a local farmer for a little.
The quantity of hay is just for guidance, you just need enough to form a bed under the bird.

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