Dark Meat Recipes

AKSkeeter

AKSkeeter

Well-known member
Sharptails, Spruce Grouse, Ptarmigan are dark meated birds (as well as ducks and geese)
What is your favorite recipe for these type of birds.
I like to make sharptail enchiladas.
 
I've tried it many different ways. To me nothing beats this simple way.
cut into strips or chunks. Brine for a day or so.
Batter, deep fry and eat while it's hot.
Simple batter, 1/4 cup corn meal, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour. Tbl. spoon salt, two Tbl. spoon pepper, two Tbl. spoon garlic powder. I sometimes use an egg and a little milk. Dip, batter and repeat for a little more batter. Don't overcook or the cornmeal will burn. :)Also don't cook Pheasant or ruffed grouse at the same time or you won't eat the red stuff.
 
bacon wrapped, stuffed with an apple wedge, and cooked over charcoal does well. in addition, maybe a baste made with soy, worcesterhire, or something would be good too. with duck a cherry sauce made by simply heating up cherry preserves is good; maybe add a splash of some booze!
 
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Another option is jerky which is what my neighbor does with all his geese.

I'm not a jerky fan...I've had my fill of jerky from 30 years of backcountry hunts!
 
I think I've shared this one before. If you eat pickled jalapenos, save the juice. I freeze it in zip locks. It makes a great marinade. It doesn't make the meat hot, just gives a nice jalapeno flavor. I used to marinate dove breasts overnight, wrap a piece of bacon around them. Put them on the grill and cook until bacon is done. My wife loves them. Sadley, I lost all my dove spots.
 
I keep pheasant legs, diver duck meat, goose meat, pigeon, etc. After the season, I grind it for use one of two ways.

1. Mixed 50/50 with ground cheap bacon. Picked up the idea on this forum. It makes an outstanding burger.

2. Mixed with cheap ground pork and the proper spices to make an Italian sausage. Google it. The Italian sausage is then used as a breakfast sausage or in chili recipes.
 
It does make great summer sausage!! I collect all of the dark meated birds through the year and make one big batch of summer sausage at the end of the season.
 
gimruis said:
Geese aren't edible. Even as jerky they are tough as nails. I'm never eating one again lol
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Tough is typically due to overcooking or a very old bird.

The best waterfowl I've ever eaten was a grilled speckle-belly goose.
I like Canada geese from here in Montana. I simply grill the breast rare over hardwood coals
after brushing with olive oil. Let rest for 15 minutes and then slice like roast beef.
 
AKSkeeter said:
Tough is typically due to overcooking or a very old bird.
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I've tried preparing it and cooking it several different ways. It all turned out the same. Even my dog won't eat it and she's a bottomless pit.

Pothole filler would be a better use for those oversized rats with feathers.
 
gimruis said:
Geese aren't edible. Even as jerky they are tough as nails. I'm never eating one again lol
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So the goose was never hung and aged properly. Not the gooses fault!

As for the dark meat, the birds listed are different and should be treated differently. Of those listed I like duck by far. And as the old polish woman who used to live next door to me said, "Don't wash those ducks! You'll remove all the flavor." She made czernina (duck blood soup) so I figured she knew what she was talking about.

I like to cook boned duck breast, like beef tenderloin on the grill. Rare to barely medium rare with only salt and pepper. Most would call it raw, but it is damn good when all you do is wipe off the feathers and whatever else might be on it. Simply, delicious, lean red meat. (I also do on the stove and when almost done, take it off to rest and add some red wine to the pan to deglaze and make a sauce.)

for goose, I only use the bone in breast, skinned and cover in bacon and then smoke for half a day. Take it out and cool then slice paper thin like roast beef, which is what it tastes like when done this way. Most people cannot tell the difference.
 
After getting a lot of sharptailed grouse last week, I figured I better start eating some. So at camp I took one and made fajitas. I put oil and basic seasoning on the breasts and cooked rare. They were really good. I fed the heart and thigh medallions to the dog, she really liked that.

The day after I got home I made them again. I don't get why people don't like sharptails and prairie chickens, I've really enjoyed them. Maybe they're the same people that cook every piece of meat to well done.
 

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Bob Peters said:
After getting a lot of sharptailed grouse last week, I figured I better start eating some. So at camp I took one and made fajitas. I put oil and basic seasoning on the breasts and cooked rare. They were really good. I fed the heart and thigh medallions to the dog, she really liked that.

The day after I got home I made them again. I don't get why people don't like sharptails and prairie chickens, I've really enjoyed them. Maybe they're the same people that cook every piece of meat to well done.
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Yes, typically dark meat from spruce grouse, sharptails, ptarmigan, ducks and geese is much better cooked on the rare side.
Over-cooked and folks sometimes complain that it tastes like liver.
 
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