Not just for the birds

Tag: game bird recipes

  • Hungarian Partridge Angus

    Angus and the wee Hungarian Partridges

    I must admit that after yesterday’s opening day take of two Lilliputian-sized Hungarian partridges I wasn’t all that excited. When we got home I put them in the fridge without even really looking them over, much less cleaning them. I usually hang my birds for a while, but it’s not really cool enough to do that yet. So this afternoon I thought I’d better do them now or I’d risk doing the unforgivable: tossing them several weeks from now… Never again.

    They were a little shot up, with some intestine goo on the thighs, but I cleaned them up okay. They were about the size of a decent cock quail. I let them air dry and put them in a Ziplock and into the fridge again, thinking maybe in a few days I’d do something with them. I checked my thawing tamales around dinner time, and they were still frozen. So I grabbed the bag o’Wee Huns and entered the pantry in search of something. I didn’t know what. Then I saw the soy sauce. And the rice wine vinegar. And the brown sugar. Within twenty minutes I was tasting the best bird – of any kind – that I have ever eaten. Here’s what I did, and I name the recipe after dear ol’ Angus (I realize, for those of you with a penchant for bathroom humor, that this could be mis-read in interesting ways; get your minds out of the gutter):

    The best bird I’ve eaten. Period.

    Hungarian Partridge Angus

    Ingredients:

    • Fresh Hungarian partridges (or chukar or quail), cleaned and separated by breast and legs
    • 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
    • 2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
    • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
    • 1 Teaspoon sea salt
    • Olive oil
    • 1 clove garlic per bird, sliced; 2 per bird if decent sized
    • Fresh ground pepper

    Put the bird parts in a ziplock or covered container. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, olive oil, brown sugar, and salt, and mix everything together like your life depended on it. Do it the Zen way. Feel the molecules greeting one another with gusto. No, seriously. Do it. It will make a difference. I only had these birds in this marinade for a few minutes, and it was plenty. You can experiment with more time if you like (let me know how it goes)…

    In a large skillet, heat adequate olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the skillet) on high and add the garlic and ground pepper once it’s hot. Brown the garlic a little, and then add the birds with all the marinade. Reduce heat to medium and tend the birds, turning as needed. Do this Zen, too, and you won’t regret it. Test the breasts when you think they might be done. My birds took about 7 minutes to cook through, and the sauce was reduced to a nice syrupy consistency. Serve with sauce from the pan, or pour over rice, couscous, taters, or whatever you like (dipping sauce for bread?). Enjoy.

  • Partridge Pot Pie with Herbed Biscuit Topping

    Partridge Pot Pie
    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.
    Brittany with stuffed monkey
    Angus napping with his monkey
    Pheasant, chukar, Hungarian partridge ready to clean
    Blessed with birds
    Cleaning game birds
    Clean your birds with a good craft beer

     

    Saute with mushrooms
    Saute with mushrooms
    Add the peas
    Add the peas
    Add the cream
    Add the cream
    Fill baking dishes
    Fill baking dishes
    Top with biscuit
    Top with biscuit
    Partridge Pot Pies
    Partridge Pot Pies

  • Eating Road Kill

    At the risk of alienating half of my three readers, I have a confession to make: last night I ate my first road kill.

    It might or might not be what you’re thinking. Our neighborhood is lousy with California valley quail, which – in Idaho for obvious reasons – they refer to as valley quail. This winter we’ve been lucky enough to be entertained by coveys numbering in the several dozens. They sweep across our yard like a dusty gray wave and scurry through the beds picking up grit and seeds. Angus stays rapt at the big window in the front, taking it all in while wishing he were out there with them. Then a car will come up the street and the quail will demonstrate their instinct for panic and bust across the street in front of the looming vehicle, half of them flying and the other, probably younger half, running.

    Aging game birds
    Aging game birds

    One day I went out to get the mail and saw one of the younger quail get hit by a passing car. After colliding with the bumper it bounced to the gutter, quivered for a moment, and then lay still. I thought, “Why not?”

    Making sure none of my neighbors saw me, I picked it up and hanged it in the cold shed with the other birds I was aging. A few days later, I was pleased while cleaning the quail to see it was clean, and put it in the pot with the rest of the birds. While much smaller than the Huns and chukar I’m used to cooking, the meat was delicious. I’ll never look at road kill the same way again.

    Here’s the recipe (thanks to Dan Herrig for this, which I’ve modified slightly and renamed):

    Greek Game Bird Roadkill

    Ingredients:

    • 4 chukars cut in pieces or boned (any game bird will do, road-killed or not)
    • ¼ C olive oil
    • 1 C dry white wine
    • ½ C apple cider vinegar
    • ½ C brown sugar
    • 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
    • 4 scallions (or 8 green onions) finely chopped
    • 6 fresh basil leaves
    • 3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
    • 2 Tbsp cracked black pepper
    • ¾ C Kalamata olives halved
    • 1-1/2 C diced prunes

    Preheat oven to 350. Wash and dry game bird pieces.  Place them in the bottom of a clay cooker or Dutch oven. Add all ingredients except one cup of the prunes.  Stir, cover and place in the oven for about 1-½ hours. Check after an hour to make sure it’s not already done (cooking time will vary depending on how much meat you have in the pot).  About 15 minutes before completion, add the remaining cup of plums.  Stir and return to the oven.  Serve with brown rice and crusty bread!