Guinea Hen Crostone with Liver and Pancetta Sauce
Braised guinea hen served on a big piece of toasted bread and smothered in a rich, gravy-like sauce made of the hens’ livers and pancetta is the house specialty of Ristorante Masolino, my favorite restaurant in Panicale. I felt I would be remiss in not including it on the menu at Mozza, and since we all know how generous and open the Italian people are, I was more than a little surprised when I asked Masolino’s owner, Andrea, for the recipe for this dish, and he refused. Evidently he was not interested in sharing the secrets of his specialty with the world. So I did the only thing I could do. The summer before we opened Mozza I went to the restaurant countless times and each time forced someone in my party to order the guinea hen so I could have a bite and try to figure out how to make it—or how to tell Matt to make it. This recipe requires a lot of preparation, so it’s important to have all of your slicing and dicing done before you start cooking. You can get guinea hen thighs at poultry shops, or order it online from specialty sources such as D’Artagnan. If all you can get are thighs connected to the legs, use the legs to fortify your chicken stock. (Put the chicken stock and guinea legs in a stockpot, bring the stock to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat, and simmer for up to 2 hours, skimming off the foam that rises to the top.) As important as I believe it is for food to look as good as it tastes, I do not delude myself. I know that this dish is not going to win any beauty contests. Rest assured that what it lacks in beauty it makes up for in flavor. I think even Andrea would approve.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4
Ingredients
for curing the hens
for braising the thighs
for the garnish
Preparation
Step 1
To prepare the hens, rinse them and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the legs from the thighs at the joint. Place the thighs in a nonreactive baking dish. Season the thighs with the salt and pepper, cover the dish with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight to cure, or for at least several hours.
Step 2
To braise the guinea thighs, pour the flour on a plate or into a pie pan. Dredge the guinea hen thighs in the flour, patting off the excess flour. Heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a Dutch oven or high-sided sauté pan large enough to hold the thighs in a single layer over medium-high heat until the oil is almost smoking and slides easily in the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Place the guinea thighs skin side down in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side, taking care not to rip the skin when you turn them. Remove the thighs to a plate and wipe out the pan.
Step 3
Add the remaining 1/4 cup of oil and heat it for about 1 minute, until the oil is almost smoking. Add the pancetta and cook to render the fat but not brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until the onions are tender and translucent, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the onions and garlic from browning. Add the sage and rosemary, and season with freshly ground black pepper. (We don’t add salt to this sauce because the salt on the thighs and in the pancetta is sufficient.) Cook the herbs with the onions and garlic for about 1 minute, stirring often, to soften the herbs. Add the livers, wine, lemon juice, capers, vinegar, and 4 cups of the stock to the pan. Return the guinea thighs to the pan skin side up, and add any juices that have collected on the plate on which they were resting. If there is not enough liquid to liberally cover the guinea thighs, add more stock as needed. Bring the liquid to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer the guinea thighs, uncovered, until they are fork-tender and the meat pulls away from the bone easily, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully remove the thighs to a plate. When the thighs are cool enough to handle, remove the bone from each thigh, taking care to keep the thighs intact. Discard the bones. You can braise the guinea hen to this point up to five days in advance of serving it. Transfer the thighs and liquid to separate airtight containers and refrigerate until you are ready to serve them. Remove and discard the fat from the top of the braising liquid. Transfer it to a medium saucepan and proceed with the recipe.
Step 4
Return the pan to high heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Boil the sauce, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until it has reduced by half and is the consistency of thin gravy, 10 to 20 minutes. Pour 2 cups of the sauce into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade or the jar of a blender, taking care not to fill the bowl or jar more than halfway, as the hot liquid will expand. Holding a kitchen towel, keep the lid tight, if you are using a blender, and begin blending at low speed, increasing slowly to prevent an explosion. Purée until the sauce is smooth. Return the puréed sauce to the pan and stir to incorporate. Turn off the heat, taste for seasoning, and add salt or lemon juice, if desired.
Step 5
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F.
Step 6
Use olive oil to grease a baking dish just large enough to hold the bread slices in a single layer. Lay the bread in the baking dish and ladle the remaining 1 cup stock evenly over the bread. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake the bread until the bottom is golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. To check for doneness, lift a corner of the bread with a spatula, taking care as it tends to stick to the pan and you don’t want to leave the crunchy bits in the pan.
Step 7
Make the garnish while the bread is toasting. Combine the parsley, celery leaves, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Drizzle the leaves with the finishing-quality olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and toss gently to coat with the seasonings.
Step 8
Remove the toasts from the oven and carefully remove them from the baking dish, making sure not to leave the crispy part in the dish. Place each piece of toast bottom side up on a dinner plate and rest two guinea thighs on each piece of toast. Ladle a generous 1/2 cup of the sauce over each thigh so it runs off onto the crostone. Pile the garnish on each thigh, dividing it evenly, and serve the crostone with the remaining sauce on the side.
suggested wine pairing
Step 9
Sagrantino di Montefalco (Umbria)
