doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Properly aged ruffed grouse

Thanks will try foil as I have no parchment. Don't know if my digital thermometer with plastic body will handle the oven, so will just probe once in awhile.

The necks of these birds felt like soft baseball bats they were so full of corn. Birds are now feeding on the fat laden carcass. Fun to wrap goose and swan skins around boards and nail them up for the birds. I also put deer fat and lard in chicken wire bags and hang them up.

Good luck. Best wishes for the new year,Hal. And, a tasty dinner.

Best,
Ted

Thanks. Put in foil and will bake at 285 till done. Maybe do breasts a bit longer than legs and wings.

Hayyp New Year to All!

Thanks for your dry brine recipe, gonna save that one for down the road.

We use our sous vide pretty regularly with game. Season, set your internal temp., then finish up with a high heat sear, broil or grill. We haven't had much luck with low temp game cooking, unless it's long. For the ones I've eaten, northern snow goose closer to the nesting areas, tastes way better to me than winter ground birds. Migrating doesn't always enhance the flavor. Come to think of it, we've had some goose "bacon" this season from a friend. Somehow, they form the mix into a block, and then we slice strips off of it.

I am pleased with how this post has evolved. Lots of first-hand knowledge to share about how to make game first-rate table fare. I have learned much in its reading. I recognize that ruffed grouse needs very little to make it wonderful, and that bacon wrapping risks the loss of the subtile flavors these birds possess. One clearly doesn't need to age a ruffie, but I was looking to make these birds as good as could be and I now think aging has some distinct advantages here. I will draw them next time to see if I'm able to discern the flavors that CZ was talking about (& Romi Perkins agress with him that the birds do need to be drawn immediately).

I'm sure that the late artist James Audubon would agree about immediate drawing of your birds. Not familiar with Romi Perkins-- but I recall many gourmet styled meals prepared by Ed Gray's wife in the early years of GSJ-- both fish and game- all tasty indeed. If you dry pick upland game birds, perhaps bacon is not needed for moist and flavorful cooking-- but IMO, it can't hurt. RWTF

Lloyd,
Please remember, the naysayers hadn’t spent the day with us in the woods, with our kids, and weren’t there for Ron’s expert prep or grilling over coal. They didn’t savor the wine (beer) or the rest of the meal, or the company of your kin and the other guests on that wonderful, autumn evening. That meal was, perhaps the highlight of that trip. We didn’t have to harass the kids to eat their dinner, and my dog knew right who to lay down next to at the table. It was a pleasure meeting your brother, and having adult beaverges with him at dinner, and, after. Fine folk.
To say I’d do it again in a heartbeat is an understatement. Please don’t misplace that recipe of Ron’s.

Best,
Ted

Sorry to say my snow goose did not come out well. Dry, tough, and salty. So I guess it is true that the dry brine method apples to fresh killed birds only in order that the enzymes not be destroyed, and preferably with skin intact as Ted recommends. Oh well, my GWP Griffon Gus will enjoy some treats.

Next question is will the tenderizing effect of dry brining remain if the meat is frozen AFTER the process is complete? I would guess yes as the decomposition enzymes have done their work.

Hal,
Craig might be onto something with running it at high heat, quicker, rather than low and slow. I don’t hunt snows, my Dad did, but, they were not cleaned the day they were taken-never. Dad came home from hunting, usually late Saturday or Sunday, cleaned up, put his gear away, and mid week or so, went to his buddies to process what they took. It did involve paraffin and water, and mechanized plucking. I never witnessed it. I typically hunted grouse or pheasants with Dad’s dog when he went goose hunting. The dog wasn’t welcome on goose trips.
I would get a goose, processed with head, skin, and feet attached. Pretty sure that was the law for transporting waterfowl. I quickly learned to turn the Canada’s down cold. Unless someone I knew wanted one, and I think those birds went to sausage. They make tolerable sausage, if you are into that sort of thing.

Better luck next time. We cooked Canada’s the dog couldn’t eat, if that makes you feel any better.

Best,
Ted