Ruffed Grouse

[DrMike]

Recently, I found some ruffed grouse breasts in the freezer with which I experimented. I browned the boned meat in butter and set it aside. Then, in the butter, I browned a few large mushrooms and some shallots. When they were translucent, I placed them in the bottom of a casserole dish and layered the grouse breasts over them. I prepared a sauce with 1/2 cup of chicken broth and two cups of sour cream mixed with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of apricot jelly. I layered this over the meat and covered the casserole, which was then baked at 350 for an hour. It was delicious and went quite well with some baked hominy that I prepared and baked at the same time. I'm looking forward to grouse again this Fall.

 

[JDMAG]

Here in WEST Tennessee we dont have any grouse. But I bet quail will taste pretty good like this also!

 

[DrMike]

If I were still living in Kansas or Texas, I'd not hesitate to substitute quail. It would be just fine.

 

[jtoews80]

Quail would work, but it'd take alot more of them.....

 

[DrMike]

Pheasant would undoubtedly work as well. However, we have precious few pheasant this far north. I understand there are quite a few in the Lethbridge area, however.

 

[jtoews80]

LOL, if not there South Dakota should have a few left. I remember they used to run down the rows in the corn fields away from the combines.
I went South on a harvesting crew when I was 19 and got to see a good slice of the midwest starting in TX, and North thro: OK, KS, CO, NE, SD, ND and back into Canada. Was an adventure when I was 19, met alot of great people and seen some really nice country.

JT.

 

[DrMike]

Fascinating! Growing up in Kansas, it was common for boys to hire on to the harvest starting in Texas and following it through to Saskatchewan. Yeah, lots of pheasant in Kansas. One of my first jobs after getting out of the Marine Corps and returning to college was working on a pheasant farming.