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
We can read the history of written recipes far back into ancient history, in truth as far into history as early Egypt, and quite possibly further than that. Interesting though that maybe, in the main part, these ancient records were just simple hieroglyphic instructions for meal preparation.
In fact, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to academics are a few tablets in Sumerian which describe the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made people feel exhilarated. Progressing into Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius wrote a number of documents which described recipes cooked by wealthy Romans. In his publication, he recounts how the meals were divided into hors d`oeuvres, main course and dessert, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. This early Roman chef tells us how the Roman cooks were skilled in the use of many different herbs and spices, including a few you will know such as basil, mint and dill. Later on, we find two interesting recipe books from the 1300s : a cookery book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary titled `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, these books are unconnected to the indian food that is served today, but rather descriptions of the types of meals on the menus of the rich and powerful of the time. Later on in the 1400s, people returning from the crusades brought back many new foods, spices and herbs from Arab cuisine, including spices such as parsley, basil and rosemary. These new foods and spices caused a torrent in recipe publications, the majority of which are now in private collections. For the next few years, the powerful and rich houses tried to serve up the best banquets, and because of this chefs and their collection of recipes were much in demand. Nevertheless, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century that haute cuisine and cookery books became really popular. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, spent years to collating, verifying, and writing down popular recipes of the day. By the advent of the twentieth century, cook books were starting to become popular due to higher levels of literacy, increased leisure time and having more disposable income. The introduction of the TV gave us celebrity TV chefs and the spin-off recipe books. Which brings us neatly up to date and the invention of computers and the internet, permitting everyone to access thousands of recipes like those on our web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Alder Cone Smoked Grouse W_ Fern Root Glaze & Salal Sauce recipe.
