poached grouse

I have been looking at a recipe for poached chicken and it made me wonder if I could poach grouse too and then use the poached meat and resulting broth to make soup. Has anyone here had any experience with this? And do you think I could add the woodcock I have sitting in my freezer too?

ktr
  • Posted by: ktr
  • January 11, 2015
  • 2828 views
  • 12 Comments

12 Comments

Pegeen
Pegeen January 14, 2015
Just read in Manger's latest blog post (Dec. 16), http://mimithorisson.com/, there's a recipe for pigeon cooked as woodcock. In case that's useful to anyone.
 
ktr
ktr January 14, 2015
Interesting. I know many people wrap grouse and woodcock in bacon and then cook it similarly to that.
 
Pegeen
Pegeen January 13, 2015
ktr, Thank you. One of the pleasures of this site is being able to ask more esoteric questions and get answers.
 
Pegeen
Pegeen January 12, 2015
If someone could, describe the difference in taste between a pheasant and a woodcock. I imagine it has a lot to do with the area where they were shot and what they ate. Thanks.
 
ktr
ktr January 13, 2015
First, pheasant is significantly larger than grouse which is quite a bit larger than a woodcock. Unlike pheasant and grouse, woodcock is a dark meat bird. I've always thought it had an almost liver-like taste to it. Woodcock definitely had a stronger flavor than the other birds. I've had good luck using it with a cream sauce but it doesn't go well with a red sauce. Also, pheasant works well slow cooking it and then shredding the meat. Grouse shreds ok. But I've never been able to get woodcock to shred.
 
Pegeen
Pegeen January 12, 2015
I have imagined a project named "Edward Gorey's Book of Lavish Cooking." The poached grouse and woodcock have been duly added to the poultry section.
 
Pegeen
Pegeen January 12, 2015
That should be, "Edward Gorey's Book of Lavish Cookery."
 
aargersi
aargersi January 12, 2015
I want to know where you got them! So jealous!
 
Greenstuff
Greenstuff January 12, 2015
Truly! I was counting it up, and I think it's more than 30 years since I last ate a woodcock!
 
ktr
ktr January 12, 2015
My husband would say that is one of the benefits of living in God's country! He loves to bird hunt and when we lived in northern Wisconsin, he would more often than not get more woodcock than grouse because that is what our dog liked to find. Now that we are in northern Minnesota, he seems to get more grouse and fewer woodcocks. And of course, we have pheasants from his SD hunting as well. If only he could get a deer again one of these years! I just ran out of venison and have never bought meat in my life so I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do!
 
Greenstuff
Greenstuff January 12, 2015
Lucky you.

Long, slow braising or stewing is a common way to cook grouse, so you might thing about that--don't just poach it quickly, as you would a chicken breast. As for the woodcock, I've read that it should not be over-cooked, so you might want to add it later and pull it out earlier.
 
ktr
ktr January 12, 2015
That's a good tip for the woodcock. Thanks!
 
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