I love fall, it is by far my favorite season.  Spring is great, summer is overrated (to crowded for me) and winter gets blah after New Years. But, fall is awesome.  Corn mazes, pumpkins, changing leaves, crisp air, fresh apples, and one of my favorite things; grouse hunting.

About Grouse

The grouse I love to go after where I live are ruffed grouse, they are often called partridge (which is incorrect but the term is still used a lot).  In the springtime here the ruffies drum a deep almost subsonic noise throughout the maple, aspen, and willow.   Many times while I’m hunting morel mushrooms I hear them calling for a mate.  The drumming is hard to describe and even harder to hear on a computer but it is more of a feeling than a noise.  Its one of the most amazing things to me.

 

 

Honestly, unless you have a really good subwoofer you don’t get the full effect but you can see the little bird and get somewhat of an idea of what they look like.

In Idaho we have 5 types of grouse: ruffed grouse, dusky grouse (I hunt those also way up high like at 8000+ ft), sooty grouse (up by Canada), sage grouse, and sharptail grouse.  Of them all, ruffies are the prize to me.  They are the smallest (a little over a pound) but they are what chicken wishes it tasted like.

So back to fall.  The grouse season here is amazing because it puts me in some of the most beautiful places in the world.

Those aren’t burnt carrots, they are purple carrots and are delicious.

 

Plus I usually get to take my favorite people with me too.

 

Because I love going so much I had to figure out a way to make grouse that would take advantage of the natural flavors they have.  After all their diet consists of currants, juniper berries, huckleberries, snowberries, elderberries, and some bugs and seeds.   Not like our grained and quick grown chicken (although I do eat that too, I just prefer grouse).   I have tried to make them several different ways and this is my very favorite so far.

 

Oh and on a side note, after I took my 4 year old up to the beaver dams, he wanted to know all about beaver.  We watched some documentaries on them, those are some awesome little creatures.

 

Recipe

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Roast Grouse

A savory combination of gamebird, herbs, and wine for a fantastic fall feast. 

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 4
Author dangenho@gmail.com

Ingredients

  • 4 Breast Grouse (chukar, pheasant, or even chicken)
  • 4 Strips Bacon
  • 1 small Sweet Onion
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 4 large Carrots diced
  • 2 cups White Wine
  • 2 cups Chicken Broth
  • 2 sprigs Sage
  • 2 sprigs Rosemary
  • 2 sprigs Thyme
  • 2 tea Kosher Salt
  • 1 tea Black Pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat Oven to 450 F.

  2. In a large skillet cook the bacon strips until they are rendered to a flexible crispy state. They should be cooked but still bendable. 

  3. Remove the bacon and saute the grouse in the bacon grease until they are browned on the outside.  

  4. Wrap each breast with a slice of bacon and place in a roasting pan. 

  5. Add onions, garlic, salt, pepper, and carrots.  

  6. Pour the wine, chicken broth, and bacon grease over top.  

  7. Place the sprigs of herbs on top and roast for 30 min.  

  8. Serve with brown rice, or mashed potatoes for a delicious fall meal. 

Recipe Notes

This recipe can be used with chicken, pheasant, or real partridge. 

Enjoy and then have a nice pumpkin dessert.