What goes with partridge?

I serve the following with many smaller game birds

Braised red cabbage
Game chips
Redcurrant enriched gravy.

 

I'm a little confused, Sparkus. Are you looking for sides, or for partridge recipes? Your post is a little ambiguous.

Please clarify.

 

Mark it might help if you told us what kind of pat you have. Sage grouse? Spruce grouse? Ruffed....etc.
Here is a link to a recipe I did a few years back (Honey BBQ grouse) for a local sporting goods store. This works very well with stronger flavored grouse or farm raised pheasant. If you have a fine bird like ruffed grouse I like to dredge them in flour and pan fry with some morels. A lille heavy cream to finish or if you want to be a little lighter on the calories some white wine.
Ruffed grouse also makes a superb Piccata.


Jay's Sporting Goods, Michigan's original outdoor super store | Recipes

 

A partridge in a pear tree ....oh c'mon, someone had to say it.

But seriously, partridge and pear do go together. As in this recipe:
Occasions Magazine - Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation: Gio?s Partridge Breast with Bacon and Absolut Pear Relish Recipe

 

Not any more!

 

A Partridge in the pantry

 

Well, while you guys fool around, I'll just help Sparkus out:

Peter's Partridge

4 partridge breasts
Butter
Salt & pepper
1 bunch seedless white grapes
1 jigger brandy
1 pint heavy cream

Melt butter in a skillet and quickly brown the breasts. Salt & pepper them.

Place the breasts, skin side up, in a buttered casserole in a single layer. Fill the bone-side cavities with grapes. Add more grapes until the breasts are covered. Top with a tablespoon of butter, cover the casserole, and cook 25 minutes in a preheated 375F oven, basting occasionally. Add the brandy just before removing the casserole from the oven.

To make sauce: Boil down the dripping from the breasts along with the juices and any whole grapes left in the casserole. Stir in the cream and serve over the breasts.

Breast of Partridge Cordon Bleu

Skinless, boneless partridge breast
1 thin slice smoked ham per breast
1 slice Swiss cheese per brest
Salt and pepper
1 egg white, beaten
Egg wash made with t tsp milk per egg
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

Flatten the breast with a cleaver. Season with salt and pepper. Lay a slice of ham and a slice of cheese onto each seasoned breast, leaving an uncovered edge. Fold the breast over the filling and flatten the edges to seal them Brush with egg white and freeze.

Dip in egg wash, coat with bread crumbs, and refreeze. Repeat as necessary to get a nice coating and a good seal of the edges.

Fry in a deep fryer until golden brown. Transfer to a baking dish and bake in a 375F oven 45-60 minutes.

If you need others, Sparkus, give a yell. I've got lots.

 

Peter's partridge sounds so nice, and the cordon bleu too. They'd both work with chicken and other poultry too I'm guessing.

As partridge is game, would you suggest use of a red wine or port in a recipe for them? Have never tasted it, personally.



(P.S. KYH - you know you laughed)

 

I might with a sage hen or spruce grouse, DC, which have robust enough flavors to stand up to them. But most grouse are too delicate for that, in my opinion, and do better with white wines and fruity brandies.

Here's an example:

Braised Chukar In Riesling-Pinapple Glaze

6 whole chukar
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1 cup riesling
1 cup chunk pineapple (fresh or canned)
1 cup water
3 tbls butter
1 tsp cornstarch

Heat butter in a large skillet. Brown the birds on all sides. Add water and spices and simmer 15-25 minutes until chukar are cooked through. Remove birds to serving platter.

Add the riesling and cornstarch to the skillet and simmer until it thickens to desired consistency. Add the pineapple and pour the sauce over the braised chukar.

Another possibility:

Partridge Baked with Sweet-Sour Raspberry Glaze

4 partridges
1/4 cup butter, melted
Salt & pepper to taste
1 pkg (10-oz) frozen raspberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
Juice of half lemon
2 oz blackberry brandy or raspberry liqueur
Slurry made from 1 tbls arrowroot dissolved in 1 tbls water

For the glaze: Thaw raspberries. Put them in a saucepan with the water, sugar, lemon juice, and brandy. Heat to simmering and thicken with the arrowroot slurry.

Brush partridge with melted butter, season with salt and pepper, and place in a well-buttered baking dish. Cover tightly and bake in a preheated 375F oven for 45-50 minutes. Remove from oven. Brush with glaze. Reduce heat to 300F and return to oven for 10-15 minutes. Repeat glazing steps three or four times until birds are well glazed.

And, of course, if there's anything better than roast Ruffed grouse with a Calvados-cream sauce I don't know what it is.

 

Tastes just like chicken.

Aw, c'mon, somebody had to say it.

 

KYH,
I have very little experience of game and am grateful and interested in the information. I was rather thinking I suppose along the lines of pigeon which to be honest have really only read about.

Partridge is seemingly in an entirely different taste direction. (KCZ, very funny) Thank you for the posting KYH.

Out of curiousity, do you know why it is named "ruffed"?

 

Grouse has a very white flesh. AFAIK they are called "ruffed" because of the black feathers around the males neck. Have you ever beat your chest like tarzan? This is pretty much what the male ruffed grouse does every spring. They stand on logs and "drum" their wings and puff out their tales and neck plumage. If you have never heard this before and are in the woods foreaging for mushrooms it may give you a real surprise. They start slow and drum faster until they are done. They are pretty birds as well ......
pretty darn tasty that is.

 

Out of curiousity, do you know why it is named "ruffed"?

In the United States and Canada, ruffed grouse are considered to be the king of gamebirds; a title well deserved, as anyone who's hunted them will confrim. That title doesn't come lightly, either, as there are 17 different wild gamebirds in those two countries. Some are larger, some more prevalent. But none of the others combines the sportiness, aesthetics, and value on the table the way Ol' Ruff does.

Their name comes from the patch of broad, squarish feathers with a metallic sheen found above each shoulder. These "ruffs" flare out and appear to be a single band, sort of like an Elizabethean collar, during courtship and territorial display.

And, just to avoid any possible confusion, in North America, "gamebird" refers to upland bird species, whereas "wildfowl" refers to waterfowl.

 

Duckfat - you make me laugh , those birds sound very entertaining- I have no intention of beating my rather womanly chest in the imitation of a bird...thanks for the laugh

KYH - aha - an Elizabethan ruff! My silly cat has one of them. She looks ridiculous But she *is territorial. Much like QE1.

Learning much this week, thank you.