2 tbsp licorice fern root
2 tbsp gewurztraminer icewine
3/4 cup water
3 cup dried alder cones
2 wild grouse breasts, bone in and sk, inless
1 juniper & salal berry sauce:
1 1/3 cup water
1 1/2 cup b.c. pinot blanc wine
3 1/2 cup salal berries
1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
1 1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
8 juniper berries
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Directions
Recipe from Northern Bounty: A Celebration of Canadian Cuisine. The
ISBN is 0-394-22431-0. Recipe by Sinclair Philip, owner of the Sooke
Harbour House on Vancouver Island. Sinclair believes in local
ingredients, freshness and learning about and using wild ingredients
from the native peoples. His restaurant has vegetable and herb
gardens full of plants transplanted from the bush for use in the
kitchen. At Sooke, chefs prepare this dish with a salad of foraged
wild greens and flowers: amaranth, chicory, chickweed, lamb's
quarters, orache, shepherd's purse, and sorrel.
Alder: a deciduous tree, member of the birch family with woody cone
like fruits. Common in swamps and mountainous areas. [ I am going to
try black spruce cones- our commonest local tree. (Update: this was a
terrible idea- bitter tarry smoked taste) If that doesn't work I can
fall back on store bought fruit wood chips or do a Chinese Tea
Smoke.- JW]
Licorice Fern: I have no idea what it's geographic range is or what
flavor it's root would impart. Based on it's name I am going to try
diced Fennel bulb, Fennel seed or a _wee_ bit of Star Anise stewed in
Port instead.-JW
Salal Berries: Salal is a low [up to 2 meter] evergreen shrub of the
Heath family native to California, B.C. and Alaska with white to pink
urn shaped flowers and round purple berries which turn black. [There
are none locally so I will be experimenting with cranberries or
black currants.- JW]
Directions:
In a small covered sauce pan, gently simmer fern root in icewine and
water for 20 min. Pour into a glass jar, seal and let stand at room
temp for 12 hours. Strain into a small saucepan and boil, uncovered,
on high until reduced to a thick syrup. Set aside.
Heat alder cones in a large aluminum foil lined sauce pan over high
heat until they smoulder. Reduce heat to low; place grouse breasts
directly on top of the smouldering cones. Lightly brush the breasts
with the fern root glaze; cover pan tightly. Smoke breasts for 3
hours or until cooked but not dry. Remove the meat from the bone and
serve with Juniper-Salal Berry Sauce.
For the sauce: Pour 1 cup water and the wine into the bottom of a per-
forated double boiler. Place the salal berries in the top section.
Cover; simmer gently for two hours. Gently press berries with a
rubber spatula to extract remaining juice. Discard berries; reserving
syrup in the bottom of the double boiler.
To the salal syrup, add the maple syrup, peppercorns, juniper berries,
remaining water and balsamic vinegar. Bring to the boil and
immediately remove from the heat; let stand an hour before returning
to the heat. Cook, uncovered, until slightly thickened. Refrigerate
until needed.
posted by Jim Weller
Servings: 4 servings
Alder Cone Smoked Grouse W/ Fern Root Glaze & Salal Sauce Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Sauce; Wild Game
The History of Recipes
Academics have proved the existence of recipes far back into distant history, in truth as far back as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and potentially, even further back. Interesting though that maybe, these, old records were just simple pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing food.
Fascinatingly, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to historians are some ancient tablets in ancient Sumerian which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making those who drank it feel `exhilarated, wonderful and blissful`. As we move into The time of the roman empire 25BC a roman called Apicius wrote a collection of documents which described recipes cooked by his fellow Romans. In his works, Apicius tells us how the roman meals were separated into appetizers, main course and desserts, something that is very familiar to us today. He also tells us how the early Romans used many different aromatic flavours, including a few that will be familiar to modern chefs like basil, mint and dill. In the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought back many new foods and spices from Arab cuisine, including spices like coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. The introduction of these new herbs and spices led to a surge in manuscripts on food, some of which are now in private collections. Over the following few centuries, the wealthy families of Europe strove to serve the most exotic meals, and as a result chefs and their recipes could command a high salary. Even so, it was during the 1800s that formal cookery and recipe publications became really popular. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, spent years to assembling, testing, and writing down recipes common in their social group. When we get to the 1900s, recipe books were starting to become popular mostly due to increased literacy, more spare time and having more money to spend. |
We hope you enjoy this Alder Cone Smoked Grouse W_ Fern Root Glaze & Salal Sauce recipe.
