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Chukar60
PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 6:27 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 31 Jan 2019
Posts: 55
Location: Idaho

I was checking the thread on the 16 ga Society knife and came across a post where someone posted that they only breast their upland game birds.

This post is not meant to belittle or condem the practice, just thought it was an interesting topic.

I use the entire bird minus head, guts and wings.

I grew up in a large family, 12 kids being raised on 1 income. Dad was a hunter and we wasted nothing. We were taught to utilize as much of any game animal we harvested as we could.

With quail I clean them by using game shears to remove the feet, head and wings, skin them and then using the shears clip about 1/3 of an inch off the butt, then take the shears and cut along both sides of the backbone all the way past the wish bone. You can then grab the neck and the backbone and entrails come away as one leaving you with a breast and two legs attached. They cook well this way and make a nice presentation. There is a fancy name for this but I cannot ever remember it. Perhaps someone here knows what it is.

With larger birds, pheasant, chukar and grouse, I remove the breast then cut the legs off the backbone at the joint. Then I seperate the thigh from the drum stick. The thighs are tender enough to cook with the breast. Drum sticks are used for soup stock along with the backbone.

You ain’t lived until you have enjoyed a bowl of chukar noodle soup.

The lady that caters meals at the ranch for our bird hunters makes quail legs on her Traeger grill that are out of this world. They are served as a snack. Unfortunately she wont share her recipe with me and my attempts at replicating it have ended in failure.

I would love to hear how others utilize their hard earned birds.
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fin2feather
PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 8:00 am  Reply with quote
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I used to always clean the whole pheasant but for the past few years I've just been breasting them out. Seemed like the rest of the bird always went to waste; a shame, I know. Clean the whole quail though. Did bring home one picked pheasant from my last SD trip to roast.

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UncleDanFan
PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 8:12 am  Reply with quote
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That was me who made the comment about breasting. I mostly shoot chukars and pheasants, and my favorite method of cooking them is cubing the breast and thigh meat, coating in egg and flour, and frying in hot skillet with thick cut mushrooms, onions and garlic. I call it chukar popcorn, because it breaks apart and is amazingly flavorful. I haven't thought about using the rest as soup stock, but I probably should.

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df
PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:32 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 01 Oct 2007
Posts: 962
Location: Minnesota

I clean quail the same as the OP.
On pheasants, usually fillet off the breast meat. Sometimes I’ll save the thighs also.
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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 10:46 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2787
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

Gentlemen,

Real good article in the latest RGS/AWS magazine, in the From Forest to Fork section for fixing wild birds for eating. If you like eating Woodcock and Grouse 3 real good receipts to use, on page 46 & 47 with a little direction for fixing the meals & Bird/Game Stock.

Spatchcocked Woodcock

Game Stock

Easy Buttermilk Fried Grouse


Pine Creek/Dave
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Gran16
PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 12:18 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 08 Mar 2016
Posts: 120
Location: South Dakota

Chuckar60, I think the meathod you are referring to is called spatchcock. I take everything from the birds we shoot right down to the hearts and gizzards I don’t do livers but my step dads eats them.

Drumsticks, thighs and breast bone or backbone make good tortilla soup. This year the favorite has been filleting the breast in half pound them out thin fry and make a buffalo pheasant style sandwich.

Hank Shaw’s pheasant quail cottontail cook book is a must have I think. Plenty of varartion in prep methods and different recipes to try.
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old colonel
PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 3:37 pm  Reply with quote
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I must confess I am guilty of normally breasting the preserve birds I shoot.

I often cube them or pound them thin then spice/flour them and fast cook the thin breast then lightly sauce and serve with Risotto.

On wild quail I do both full birds and breast depending on how I intend to cook them.

On pheasant I do full birds but more often than not split off the legs and cook them on the Traeger seperately

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tramroad28
PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 3:40 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 20 Jul 2011
Posts: 625
Location: Ohio..where ruffed grouse were

I respect those who save the woodcock's legs but the breasts, simply cooked, are enough for me.

Using all of any game seems the right thing to do but I often fail to do the right thing.....moreso since my Mother has passed and no one else wants to eat squirrel brains.
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skeettx
PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 3:41 pm  Reply with quote
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Location: Amarillo, Texas

The running gear on Bobwhite Quail is AWESOME

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Researcher
PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 4:01 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 13 Jun 2009
Posts: 695
Location: WA/AK

I clean the whole Pheasant, but package and cook the breast filets separate from the legs, backs and wings. Probably been a decade since I've stuffed and roasted a whole Pheasant.

My buddy who regularly bones a whole turkey for Thanksgiving and makes a roll with the stuffing in the center, did the same thing with two Pheasants --

Two boned Pheasants --

Ready for the oven --

Out of the oven --

Sliced --

Unfortunately he went and got himself elected County Commissioner and doesn't have time for such things any more!!

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robp
PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 4:08 pm  Reply with quote
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I generally sort my birds
specimens in good condition get picked I scald them first takes about 10 to 15 minutes a bird
Others breasted out and thighs bones out
i mark the bags as to grade them A,B,C
I sereved a couple picked and roasted pheasants last sunday
man did they come out wonderful thighs, breast and drummies everything just great
I brined them a little more than 24 hours then dried the skin and let them sit for another 12
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Chukar60
PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 5:06 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 31 Jan 2019
Posts: 55
Location: Idaho

Thanks to pine creek and Gran16 for reminding me that the method I use on quail is spatchcock.
The method I was taught growing up was time consuming and resulted in the breast and legs seperate.
Had a wonderful family from California who hunted at the ranch for several years show it to me. There was a dad and two sons. They would set up a production line and would go through 3 limits of quail (30 birds) so fast it impressed me..
Want to thank everybody for their contributions.
I have never shot or eaten woodcock. Anybody want to take a shot at describing the flavor to me?
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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:54 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
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Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

Chukar60,

Woodcock tastes a lot like a mild liver, my buddy Cpt Denny Boyce and his wife eat them like popcorn. I always make sure they have enough to make a few meals each season.

Pine Creek/Dave
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Soggy socks
PostPosted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 2:53 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 26 Apr 2016
Posts: 369
Location: Vermont

My wife makes a delicious woodcock pie. We also use wild turkey legs as a substitute with good results. I always save the turkey legs and thighs i know a lot of people don't, what a shame some of the best eatin on the bird.
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tramroad28
PostPosted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 5:23 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 20 Jul 2011
Posts: 625
Location: Ohio..where ruffed grouse were

Chukar60 wrote:
...
I have never shot or eaten woodcock. Anybody want to take a shot at describing the flavor to me?



Woodcock tastes nothing like liver ....unless it is over-cooked.
Cooked rare, the breasts have the flavor of beef...some say, beef tips.

The difference in beef to liver can be in 10s of seconds...some preparations where cooking times increase will find the liver-ish taste.
Most folks, at those times, attempt to cover up the flavor with bacon, etc. as with many blood-rich, dark-meated birds.

Hot skillet, butter, maybe, some slightly browned onions and a minute or so....perfection.
Possibly a dash of old wooster, for the sharpness. Basically, the simpler, the better, imo.
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