Hazel-hens

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) heavy ovenproof skillet
• •Instant-read probe thermometer
• •Kitchen twine
• •Small whisk
• •Warm oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the birds

   Set an oven rack in the upper third and heat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Examine the hazel-hens before proceeding: they should smell clean and faintly of game, never sour, and the flesh should feel firm rather than tacky. If a bird smells wrong, don't cook it; freshness is the foundation of this dish and no seasoning can repair spoilage. Check the cavities, remove any pinfeathers or visible shot with the tip of a paring knife, and pat the birds thoroughly dry without washing them. Leave them at cool room temperature for 20 minutes while the oven heats.

2. 2

   Brown the croûtons

   Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the bread and cook until both faces are evenly golden and crisp at the edges, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the croûtons to a warm serving platter. Wipe loose crumbs from the skillet, but don't wash away the buttered film.

   The croûtons are not decoration. They receive the resting juices and become the richest mouthful on the platter, so brown them firmly without drying their centres to hard toast.
3. 3

   Bard and truss

   Rub the birds all over with 1 tablespoon of softened butter, then season the cavities and skins with the salt and pepper. Barder, to wrap with pork fat, is the protection delicate game needs while it roasts. Lay 2 sheets of fatback across each breast, covering the broadest portion without enclosing the legs, and secure them with kitchen twine. Tie the legs loosely together so the birds keep their shape while heat can still reach the joints.

4. 4

   Roast fast and hot

   Warm the skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Arrange the birds on their backs with space between them and transfer the skillet to the oven. Roast for 10 minutes, then remove and reserve the fatback, baste the birds with the rendered fat, and roll them onto one side. Roast for 3 minutes, turn them onto the other side for 3 minutes, then return them to their backs and continue until both the thickest breast and inner thigh register 165°F (74°C) without the probe touching bone, usually another 4 to 8 minutes. Check each bird separately and remove smaller ones first. If the skin is pale as the temperature approaches 160°F (71°C), use the broiler for 30 to 60 seconds and watch without looking away. If the breasts brown too quickly, lay the reserved fatback over them again while the joints finish.

5. 5

   Rest and build jus

   Transfer the birds to the croûtons and rest them for 8 minutes under a very loose tent of foil. Meanwhile, reserve 1 tablespoon of the measured cold water and pour the remainder into the roasting skillet. Set it over medium heat and scrape up every mahogany-coloured trace of fond, leaving any black scorched specks behind because bitterness cannot be seasoned away. Reduce to about ⅓ cup (80 ml), then remove the skillet from the heat. Monter au beurre, whisk in cold butter, with the final tablespoon until the jus becomes lightly thickened and glossy. If it turns oily, whisk in the reserved cold water a teaspoon at a time. Ça se rattrape. Add the juices collected beneath the resting birds and taste before adding any further salt.

6. 6

   Serve without delay

   Snip away the twine and set one gélinotte on each buttered croûton. Spoon the roasting jus around the birds rather than over their bronzed skins, and carry the platter straight to the table with sharp knives. The flesh waits badly and the croûtons wait beautifully, which is precisely why they belong together. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Hazel grouse is protected or unavailable for sale in many places. Buy only traceably legal birds from a specialist game dealer, and ask when they were dressed. If proper gélinotte isn't available, don't accept an elderly thawed specimen merely to preserve the name; prepare a separate roast-partridge recipe instead.
• •Fresh unsmoked fatback protects the breast without masking the bird. Unsmoked streaky bacon can stand in when necessary, but it contributes salt and pork flavour, so reduce the added salt and understand that the roast will taste less purely of game.
• •For salmis, use the term with confidence and obey the source's warning: remove and discard every scrap of skin and both legs before building the cullis. They are bitter, and neither reduction nor seasoning takes that bitterness out.
• •Pour a light Jura red such as Poulsard, served cool rather than cold. Its bright fruit suits the delicate forest flavour without leaning on it.

Advance Preparation

• •The croûtons may be browned up to 2 hours ahead. Refresh them for 3 minutes in the hot oven before placing the roasted birds on top.
• •The birds may be cleaned, seasoned, trussed, and barded up to 4 hours ahead, then kept covered in the cold. Bring them out 20 minutes before roasting so the joints cook evenly.
• •Make the jus only while the birds rest. Gélinottes rôties should be served as soon as that short rest is complete; holding them in a warm oven dries the breasts and spends the delicacy you worked to protect.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 260g)