Recently a friend gave me some grouse. In fact I’ve got a recipe that is from an old cook book that I put together a long time ago. I’ll get to that in a bit, but first I’ve got as little story for you.
At one point during my stint in the navy a few buddies and I went hunting, we had a great time. Over a couple of years it became the ‘in thing to do,’ to get invited to our hunting cabin a hundred miles or so south of Halifax.
Deer hunting was good in that neck of the woods and we always got a buck or two while we were in camp. The grouse hunting was good as well, and it fell to the last two or three members to join our group to fill the soup pot for the week or so in camp. Not nearly exciting as putting the sights on a big old whitetail buck, but somebody had to do it. And the unlucky hunter had to keep trying until he got enough birds for the pot.
On one of our trips, one of the gang invited a friend to come along on a hunt (which was okay once in a while) but this guy was a real pain. We will call him Dim-bulb and mention in passing that he wore a wig. Anyway, he and his pal John got the job of filling the soup pot the first day in camp.
By four in the afternoon they had two scrawny birds for the pot. One of our members by the name of Jake volunteered to show how it’s done. He put Dim-bulb in a blind and John in another one to back Dim-bulb up.
Then they waited until a covey of grouse landed twenty yards away. Dim-bulb got excited and jumped up, waving his shotgun around, looking for something to shoot at. When he could not find a target he ran toward the thicket where the birds had landed. In the hubbub his friend accidentally discharged his old 12-gage just as Dim-bulb’s wig flew into the air.
For a very long time (years) Dim-bulb was certain his friend had shot at him on purpose, but Jake who saw it all at close range, said that was nonsense.
Spicy Grouse Strips.
6 or 7 skinned and filleted grouse breast,1/2 tsp. sage, savoury, whit pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and marjoram, 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine, 3 slices of mozzarella cheese, cut in strips, Taipan sauce to taste
Skin the grouse if you haven’t already done this, and lay them flat on a pie plate. Melt the butter, add the spices and brush this over as it cooks. Let the breasts cook in a moderate oven for twenty minutes or until the meat is well done. Now lay the cheese slices over the grouse strips and return to the oven to melt the cheese. Add Taipan Sauce to taste, and serve at once.
See Ya Next Week!