93 votesThe hypocrasis an ancient drink made by sweetening wine with fruits, usually honey, and flavoring it more with spices which they call “royal.” This is a drink known throughout the medieval times in Europe. Legend attributes its invention to the Greek physician Hippocrates. In fact, the name "hypocras" was introduced for the first time at the mid-14th century. In this recipe, the hypocras was reduced to make a concentrate and then used as a sauce for tender guinea fowl (sometimes called guinea hen) which is an insect and seed-eating, and ground-feeding and nesting bird.
By the way, since it won’t be detailed on the recipe, here are tips/steps on preparing the guinea fowl: Remove first the wishbone. Remove the breasts from the bird and try to keep the wing bone attached. Cut and scrape the meat down to expose a clean bone. Leave it covered until it will be used. Follow the written recipe or video for next steps. Guinea fowl is served with a delicious hypocras sauce, and can be accompanied with wonderfully tasty spicy potatoes, endives and parsnip.
Guinea fowl makes a great alternative to chicken for a warming dinner on an autumn night. It has a lovely flavor that is slightly gamey but very subtle (much less assertive than pheasant or grouse). As it is generally a smaller bird, cooking methods that help retain moistness are recommended (e.g. pot roasting or casseroling). Barding or regular basting are advisable when roasting guinea fowl. Legs and wings are also excellent if marinated for a few hours before grilling.
This dish is best accompanied by a 1999 Moundeuse Noire, a spicy, powerful wine, with dark fruits and a hint of licorice to complement the hypocras. Enjoy another great recipe from the Michelin chef Etienne Krebs…bon appétit!
To make the spice wine or hypocras: Heat up the red wine in a deep sauce pan. Add the vanilla pods, raspberries, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Bring the mixture to a boil. Remove it from the heat then let sit overnight.
Caramelize ¾ cup sugar. Deglaze it by pouring the hypocras through a strainer then to the caramel. Reduce for an hour or so, until thick or almost crystallized. Add a little bit of poultry base.
Roast some endive leaves to be used for decoration. Mince the rest. Cook the minced endives in a cooking pot with butter, sugar, and salt.
Season then roast rare a fillet of guinea fowl in oil and butter.
Spread two spoonfuls of endives on a serving dish. Spread around it a few leaves of the roasted endives.
Take the guinea fowl from the pan, drain some excess oil. Place it over the endives. Garnish by sticking a few threads of cinnamon and vanilla pods on it. Lastly, drizzle some of the hypocras sauce around the dish. Serve it with recommended wine if desired. Bon appétit!
