Served it last night for the first time for a dear old flyfishing friend who'd requested it as he'd never had it before (a native Texan). Something of an appetizer, served with drinks before the salad and ribeye streak main-course. Nothing fancy, just two birds (breasts only) done bacon-wrapped and aged per Romi Perkins directions in her classic Orvis cookbook. Aged ~5-days undrawn in a refrigerator, then cleaned and frozen (for ~3-months), thawed-out and brined (sugar & kosher salt), boned-out and wrapped in fairly thin-sliced bacon, and then grilled over a hot flame to start (then slowed down to a careful finish). Done to a turn and then rested under foil for a few minutes. By-far, the best ruffed grouse I've ever had. Snow-white and firm (as usual), but... moist, tender, flavorful, and incredibly jucy. Almost like I was having it for the first time(!) My guests and wife were blown away by them (& this wasn't my wife's 1st time). Sometimes the bacon overwhelms the delicate flavor of the bird, but not here. The bacon was clearly part of the show, but these birds were incredibly savory and in almost a new way for me. Nothing like chicken or...game hen or anything else I can think of. My buddy Walt said it somewhat compared to quail for him and I would agree, but better perhaps, and more pronounced than I've ever tasted it before.
