doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com A Christmas quail versus ruffed grouse taste test.

A unique opportunity presented itself here last night. We've served both species at past events, but never together and never as a deliberate comparison before. We even had a true southern gentleman and his wife here (both grew up near to Memphis) to be somewhat-unbiased observers. I grilled some quail that had been shot & skinned and frozen last November (not ideal, clearly), but we brined them carefully and kept them in a simple marinade of olive oil, parsley flakes, paprika, and salt & pepper. I'd aged these birds before cleaning and freezing them, however, and grilled them whole, very carefully, to not overcook or dry them out. By all accounts from the gathered sports folks who consumed them, they were very good indeed. I then plated some ruffed grouse for them to try. These birds were also aged, skinned, and then brined. I did, however, pound some bacon strips very thin and then wrapped the cleaned individual breast and other tender parts. Pared with a good sauvignon blanc (and perhaps some good bourbon Old-Fashioneds) we performed the side-by-side taste tests. Even my Southern Folks (who'd never had ruffed grouse before) had to admit that ruffed grouse was pretty spectacular. We then went on to compare grilled mule deer with elk (which I made something-of a hash of because I'd overcooked the deer tenderloins, not severely....but still more than I would normally do). Served with a mild parm/romano cheese & onion polenta, a poached-pear salad, and gorgonzola blue-cheese sauce (with a cranberry-horseradish condiment) I didn't get a chance to solicit input (on my 3rd Old Fashioned by that point and somehow forgot) but....there were no leftovers. Shovelling snow here this AM in 16-degree below zero weather and feeling the effects of the prior evening's event. Ho, Ho, Ho!

[img]http://gfycat.com/impartialpolishedelkhound[/img]

Bacon makes a huge difference. Skews the results.
JR

Sounds wonderful. For Christmas eve I am going to smoke several pheasant breast on the Treager, with bacon wrapped dove breast as appetizers. For the football games Christmas day, I am making six different types of seasoned pork belly strips, each about 3/8- 1/2" thick on the Treager again. Kind of a cross between bacon and jerky with anything from sweet, to salty, to tangy or hot spicy flavoring. They all go away quickly. Only a snack as the prime rib will be the main course later.

I have been thinking about doing a quail, chukar and pheasant or duck combination. Might make a good New Year Day menu with black eye peas. Thanks for the inspiration.

Grouse for the win every time!!

It's Grouse in my house!
Karl

What kind of meat do people usually add to bacon when cooking it?

Can't think of any wild game that when served with: Cheesy grits, cathead biscuits, black eyed peas and collards as side dishes would not be downright delectable. If I have "over-done" slightly waterfowl, I have found that serving cranberry jelly with duck or goose works rather well. RWTF..

These types of comparisons are alway difficult, because there are so many variables. I've never eaten quail, but really like ruffed grouse. But I'd bet there are plenty of cooks that could screw it up. And as John Roberts notes, a bacon wrap will cover a multitude of sins.

I really believe that it makes a huge difference how game is prepared, beginning from before time it was shot. The diet of a game animal certainly has an effect upon taste and quality. A guy I know who raised very high quality beef for very expensive restaurants told me that it was very important to even do the slaughtering with great care. He fed his beef cows beer on the day of slaughter to have them as relaxed as possible before killing them. He said it was very important to not have them stressed in any manner so that there was no excess adrenaline pumped into their system when they died. And he told me that people who complain about wild game simply don't know how to care for it.

Ever since, I have done my utmost to kill my game as quiclky as possible. I'd rather pass up a shot than risk a poor shot that would mean wounding and trailing. I have tried to do most of my hunting near agricultural areas where there was higher quality feed. And I truly believe it makes a difference. Then there is the care in gutting, cleaning, bleeding out, and aging if the temperature cooperates. Spoilage never helps. So if it makes a difference with beef or venison, does it also make a difference with a grouse or pheasant? Would a runner with a broken wing taste different than a bird that was dead in the air?

One of the best and most memorable pieces of meat I ever ate was tenderloin from a young sow black bear. It was as good or better than any filet mignon I ever had. And one of the worst tasting pieces of meat was steak from a large boar black bear that had been shot and tracked for hours before being finished off. It was tough, and not all all enjoyable. I wanted to spit it out. So does that mean bear meat is good or bad?

We frequently do either whole grouse or pheasant roasted in a Dutch oven. Grouse needs nothing except for some mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, butter, white wine, salt & pepper. Pheasant tends to be dry & is much better prepared the same + 5 strips of bacon barded across the breast.