Random peacocks roaming Red Hill/Narrabundah

farout said :

… a peacock and about ten peahens …

Who does the peacock think he is – Mohamed Nor Awang?

Or Warren Jeffs – until we know how the other peahens feel about it.

I used to live next door to a bloke who kept peacocks, in Cairns. Loved it on the odd occasions when one hopped the fence and came prancing round my fascist flatmate’s private rainforest garden. It’s nice to think that somewhere in nature it’s the males who are prized for being gorgeous yet dumb as a box of hair. Only downside was that at daybreak they crow like things posessed. Still, by then I was usually already awake thanks to living under the flight path.

I agree that it’s great to live in a city sprinkled with random peacocks. Plus, unlike Cairns, there are actual seasons. Also bookshops, decent coffee, and theatre. Now if we could also get rain, and those tiny tiny bright green frogs.

RAGD said :

Does Peacock make a good meal? Would it be similar to turkey?

Heres a link

http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/1950s/1951/12/peacock

A. Peacock can be cooked very like turkey, except that it tends to be dry-fleshed and requires frequent basting with butter. Don’t know where you got your peacock, but every time we see one of those fine-feathered fellows strutting around the local zoo, we can’t help thinking how handsome he would look on a silver serving platter!

Roast Young Peacock
Slinge, draw, and stuff a peacock with forcemeat. Truss it for roasting and roast it in a moderate oven (350° F.) for about 20 minutes per pound, or until well browned and tender, basting very frequently with melted butter. Serve hot with pan gravy or cold with chopped jelly and cold sauce poivrade.

To make the forcemeat, soak 1 pound of bread crumbs in milk and press out the moisture. Combine it with 1 pound of chopped beef marrow, the peacock liver, finely chopped, 10 shallots or 1 onion, chopped and stewed in butter until tender, 1 tablespoon each chopped green celery leaf and parsley, and a little sage, marjoram, and thyme. Season with cayenne, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.

Sauce Poivrade
To 6 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan, add 1 carrot and 1 onion, both diced, and cook until they are golden-brown. Add 1/2 cup flour, mix together, and cook until the flour turns golden-brown. Add 3 cups brown stock or double-strength beef consommé and 1 cup tomato purée, mix well with a whip, and cook, stirring until well blended. Add 3 or 4 sprigs of parsley, 1 bay leaf, and a little thyme. If any bones of the game are available, brown them well in the oven and add them. Cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally and skimming as needed.

Put 1/2 cup vinegar and 6 peppercorns, crushed, in a pan and cook until the liquid is reduced to about one third the original quantity. Strain the sauce into the reduced vinegar mixture and cook all together for about 30 minutes, skimming carefully as the fat rises. Add 1/2 cup red wine to finish the sauce.

Enjoy.

Does Peacock make a good meal? Would it be similar to turkey?

Any shed tail feathers from the male will be warmly appreciated for tying trout flies.

Used to breed peacocks (and asorted other pheasants and parrots) as a kid, and they are a great bird to have around – if you live on a farm…
So regal, and a great alarm system (a la Ned Kelly).
I’d prefer to have them living next door than bloody dogs. At least they enough brains to not bark endlessly at the moon/cars/wind/whatever moves…

I used to work for a guy whose wife fed the Red Hill peacocks and peahens.
She’d use any shed feathers for hatmaking purposes, he’d duitfully have to clean up any messes.
Apparently the cocks all live near the Red Hill reserve.

Mystery solved – and I love the fact that Canberra is that kinda town 🙂

… a peacock and about ten peahens …

Who does the peacock think he is – Mohamed Nor Awang?

I love a city that has random peacocks wandering the suburbs. I just hope some busybody doesn’t complaim and get ’em locked up.

If you get peacocks with Advanced Life Skills ie how to avoid being eaten by the fox, then they breed like mad.