Not just for the birds

Tag: chukar recipes

Chukar Curry

According to our blog stats, we get hundreds of hits and searches for chukar and upland bird recipes every month. I have no excuse, but we haven’t posted a new recipe on here for a while; it’s been about five years to be exact. Thanks to Peat, Angus, Bob, and on good days when I can actually hit them, we’ve got a nice supply of chukar, huns, and grouse in our freezer to last quite some time for us and to also share in recipes for visiting friends and family.

Grouse and chukar

This chukar curry recipe was a hit with Bob’s students during his introduction to upland bird hunting class recently; some of the kids from our rural Idaho town had never tasted Indian food, or chukar for that matter, and became immediate fans of both. Two other teachers sampled the curry and immediately wanted the recipe. It must be a winner! The ingredients are pretty easy to find, plus it’s super easy to make. It is my new favorite go-to upland bird recipe.

Chukar Curry

serves 4-6

8 chukar breast halves (from four birds) cut into 1-inch pieces*

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

4 garlic cloves, minced, divided

2-inch piece ginger, grated, divided

2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste

3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

1 large yellow onion, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes*

1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon garam masala*

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon cayenne powder

½ cup water

Fresh cilantro for garnish. Optional but recommended.

Combine chukar breast with yogurt, half of the garlic, ginger, and salt in a bowl and set aside to marinade. You can use it right away, in an hour, or up to a day refrigerated.

In a large heavy pan with lid, heat oil. Once hot, add onions and cook 5-10 minutes, until browned at edges. Add cumin, remaining ginger and garlic and cook one to two minutes more. Add remaining salt, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, and cayenne, and cook for two minutes.

Add canned tomatoes, chukar and yogurt marinade from bowl, plus water, stir to combine, and bring to simmer, stirring. Simmer 30 minutes over low heat, covered, stirring once or twice to ensure everything is cooked evenly.

~

Serve over basmati or jasmine rice and a side of plain or garlic Naan.*

* I’ve made this recipe using a mix of Huns, dusky grouse, and ruffed grouse cut into pieces instead of chukar. Adjust amount of bird meat to suit your taste.

*If you use a 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, use half of the can and freeze the remainder in a freezer container to use when making the recipe again.

*Garam Masala is an Indian spice.

Adjust all the other spices to your taste; I’d call this recipe mild or “Cambridge Hot.” Add more cayenne if you want it “Bombay Hot.”

*Naan is a flatbread that can be found in most grocery stores in the bread aisle or near the deli. Follow the directions on the package. If you can’t find Naan, white Pita bread can be used instead. Warm the pita bread in the oven at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes, remove from oven and brush with olive oil before serving.

Enjoy!

Chukar curry served over basmati rice and sprinkled with cilantro

December 10, 2019
Chukar Al Roker

Remember this guy?

Last week while searching for a recipe, I found an old crinkled recipe clipped years ago from a magazine. The original recipe, courtesy of Al Roker, uses chicken coated with a pecan-cornmeal crust and then oven-fried. Recently, we’ve thought about the strangeness of chukar hunting. Al Roker and chukar in the same sentence, now that’s strange, unless he’s an upland bird hunter. We made his recipe last night for the first time using chukar and it ended up delicious. It’s now one of our favorite chukar recipes.

Oven-Fried Chukar with Pecan-Cornmeal Crust

6 chukar breast cutlets
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 425F. Using heavy duty aluminum foil, line a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with sides at least 1 inch high. Spray the foil with non-stick cooking oil. Rinse the chukar under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.

In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. In another shallow bowl, stir together the pecans, cornmeal, flour, salt, onion powder, cayenne and pepper.

Pecan cornmeal and egg batter oven-fried chukar

Dip the chukar pieces into the egg mixture, and then dredge them in the pecan-cornmeal mixture. Place the chukar in the prepared baking dish.

Dot the chukar with the butter and bake about 10-15 minutes. Turn the breast over and bake another 10 minutes until golden brown.

Oven-fried chukar hot out of the oven

Chukar breasts are small so be careful not to overcook. Adjust baking time as needed. Just as in fried chicken, oven-baked chukar can be served hot, at room temperature, or cold. We like to serve ours hot with brussels sprouts and creamy garlic mashed potatoes.

Thank you, Angus

December 19, 2014
Chukar Marsala with Capers and Sautéed Spinach

Chukar Marsala with sauteed spinach

This is our upland game bird recipe modification of the classic Italian dish.

16 fresh sage leaves
8 large, thin slices prosciutto
8 chukar breast halves (4 whole breasts)
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
¾ cup sweet Marsala wine
2 tablespoons capers in brine
1 tablespoon parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 2 sage leaves in the center of each piece of prosciutto, then wrap each chukar breast half in the prosciutto, making a little breast roll. Put the flour on a plate or shallow bowl and season with the pepper. Dredge the breast rolls in the flour. Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet. Once the butter is foaming, add 4 of the breast rolls, seam side down, to the skillet. Sear over medium-high heat until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side. Because chukar breasts have much less fat than chicken, it’s important not to overcook them. Transfer the seared breast rolls to an ungreased baking dish. Add another tablespoon of the butter to the pan and sear the remaining breast rolls. Transfer to the baking dish and cook in the 350-degree oven for 8 minutes.

Reduce pan heat to medium-low and add the Marsala. Stir constantly, scraping up the browned bits. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the capers and parsley. Stir in the remaining butter until melted. Spoon the sauce over the chukar rolls. Serve on a bed of sautéed spinach. Recommended side dishes are creamy mashed potatoes or brown rice.

A plate cleaning treat for job well done.

November 19, 2014
Partridge Pot Pie with Herbed Biscuit Topping
Partridge Pot Pie

I found myself in the lucky situation of having a lot of birds to cook, and the not so lucky situation of having my first nasty head cold of the season. I craved something hearty, comforting, and good for me. Chicken soup never sounds good to me, so my wonderful wife suggested we make some pot pies out of the chukar, Huns, and pheasant cluttering up our counter. A veteran of the Internet recipe sites and a great cook, Leslie found a recipe, modified it a bit, and – voila! – it was fantastic and easy. The hardest part was cleaning the birds (not that I’m complaining). Enjoy!

Partridge Pot Pie with Herbed Biscuit Topping

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter, in all
- 1 to 4 cups cooked wild game bird – chukar, Hun, grouse, or pheasant, cubed in bite-sized chunks (we used just one chukar breast for these four pies; one bird per pie is ideal)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 celery ribs, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 2/3 cup frozen peas
- 8 button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2/3 cup half-and-half cream
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 can of “jumbo-sized” refrigerated flaky biscuits
- Dried thyme, for topping
Makes four individual servings.

Directions:
1. Make sure your bird dog is nearby, preferably napping with his pet monkey
2. Clean your birds, and make sure you have a good IPA to accompany this grisly chore
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C)
4. Melt 1/4 C butter in skillet over high heat, and brown (sear) the cubed bird meat and put aside.
5. Melt remaining 1/4 C butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, and cook the onion, celery, carrots, and mushrooms until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in peas, parsley, thyme and flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour coats the vegetables and begins to fry, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and half-and-half, and cook until the sauce is thick and bubbling. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and mix in the bird meat.
6. Cut biscuits in half, making two discs. Put one disc in the bottom of a baking dish.
7. Transfer the meat, vegetables, and sauce into the baking dishes. Arrange top half of biscuits on top of the filling. Sprinkle with dried thyme.
8. Bake in the preheated oven until the biscuits are golden brown and the pie filling is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Angus napping with his monkey

Blessed with birds

Clean your birds with a good craft beer

Saute with mushrooms

Add the peas

Add the cream

Fill baking dishes

Top with biscuit

Partridge Pot Pies
December 16, 2012
Wild Chukar Risotto with Peppered Bacon and Fresh Sage
Chukar Risotto Ingredients

Now that most chukar seasons are over, one of the things we can do to bide the long months ahead before next season opens is to come up with some good dishes using the birds we have waiting for us in the freezer.

I like making risotto but had never done it with birds before. It’s a fairly labor- and time-intensive dish but not too difficult in terms of culinary skill, and the end result is usually outstanding. So I came up with this recipe, which turned out to be very tasty, while I cleaned the last two fresh chukar I’d been aging last week. Enjoy!

Ingredients
- 1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
- 4 slices (thick) peppered bacon, chopped
- Medium yellow onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped (not minced)
- 6 fresh mushrooms, chopped
- 1/4 C fresh sage leaves, chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 1 lb. chukar breast and leg meat, boned (two adult birds), chopped
- 1/2 C cheap white wine
- 2 C arborio rice (risotto)
- 1.5 quarts chicken stock
- 1/2 C fresh Parmesan cheese, grated finely
In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the peppered bacon, onion and garlic. Saute until garlic starts turning golden. Add the mushrooms, half of the chopped sage, salt & pepper, and chukar meat. Stir thoroughly and cook for one minute. Add white wine and continue cooking over high heat for a couple more minutes, making sure the chukar meat is no longer pink.

In a 2 quart stock pot heat the chicken stock on high until boiling, then reduce to and maintain it at a simmer. (You will add ladle-fulls of this boiling stock to the risotto.)

Constant stirring is the key

Reduce flame on large pot to medium high and add the arborio rice. Stir it in thoroughly, and then add one ladle-full of the simmering stock, stirring the risotto constantly. When all of the liquid has evaporated, add another ladle of stock, continuing the constant stirring. Repeat this process until the rice is just cooked enough. Depending on your ingredients, your pot and heat source, it should take about 30-40 minutes. If you run out of stock, have a reserve of boiling water ready to add, or use more stock, but make sure when you add it that it is boiling or you’ll mess up the rice.

Yum

When done, spoon into shallow soup bowls and garnish with the remaining fresh sage and grated Parmesan.
February 12, 2012

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