Creamy Ginger Upland Birds On The Fly
 | Author:
Eileen Clarke, Rifles and Recipes
Author: Rifles and Recipes |
Creamy Ginger Upland Birds on the Fly
Eileen Clarke
Rifles and Recipes
Here’s a quick dish that will win the hearts of your family. So quick in fact, that you’ll want to have everything cut, diced, and measured before you heat up the fry pan. (Oh, and have the rice, pasta or toast, whichever you choose to pour this luscious, creamy concoction on, ready to go as well.) And don’t worry if you don’t have a grouse or two in the freezer. Pheasant, Hungarian partridge—any pale-meat bird—will work, though they need to be somewhat tender for this quick cooking dish. Aging birds, especially older roosters in the fridge, for 7-10 days works—just draw and rinse the birds first and leave the feathers on to keep them from drying out. If you aren’t into aging whole birds, then an overnight soak in a brine of 2 cups water and 1 tablespoon salt helps. Dicing the meat first helps the brine work fast.
This dish deserves freshly grated ginger. To get 1 tablespoon, buy at least 3 inches of ginger root, being sure to pick a plump, heavy, firm root. Avoid anything that looks shriveled or dried. Then, peel/cut away the woody outer skin, and grate on the medium hole of your grater, as you would carrots on a salad, not Parmesan cheese.
As for the carrots, for them to cook as quickly as this recipe needs, they should be mandolin-thin. If you don’t have a mandolin, and your grater has a handy slicing blade, use that. Both make slicing carrots that thin easier.
Creamy Ginger Grouse
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/3 cup diced green onion
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
1/2 cup dry white wine (like Pinot Grigio)
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or lemon pepper)
1 pound diced grouse breast (ruffed, blue or spruce)
4 slices toast
3 cups cooked rice or pasta
Cooking
1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, sauté the onions in the butter; add the carrots and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine and grated ginger. When the wine comes to a low simmer, add the cream and pepper.
2. Bring the sauce back to a low simmer, change to low heat, and cook slowly, stirring often, until the sauce thickens. (It should be the consistency of turkey gravy.)
3. Add the diced grouse meat to the pan, and cook about 2 minutes, stirring the meat into the sauce so it is covered completely. Salt to taste at the table.
4. Serve over rice, pasta or, for a truly easy dinner, on a slice of toasted bread.
This recipe is from Eileen’s Upland Game Bird Cookery, published originally by Duck’s Unlimited. Hardcover, 180 pages of every upland bird from tiny doves to strutting gobblers. Enter the word 43News in the coupon box when checking out and get $5 off the regular price of the upland or any other of Eileen’s game cookbooks at https://www.riflesandrecipes.com/406-521-0273
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PhotoCredit: Eileen Clarke
Image 1 Caption: Eileen with her shotgun
Photo Provided by Eileen Clarke
