Snipes and Bécots

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •13 by 9 inch (33 by 23 cm) heavy metal roasting pan
• •12 inch (30 cm) heavy skillet
• •Narrow-probe instant-read thermometer
• •Digital kitchen timer
• •Butcher's twine

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the fierce heat

   Position a rack in the upper third of the oven. Put a heavy 13 by 9 inch (33 by 23 cm) metal roasting pan on the rack and heat the oven to 500°F (260°C) for a full 30 minutes. Nine minutes means nothing in a merely warm oven; the fierce heat must already be waiting for the birds. Never preheat an empty glass or ceramic dish this way.

   If the oven stops at 475°F (245°C), heat the pan for the full half hour and rely on the temperature check after roasting. A cooler fire may require a few brief additional intervals.
2. 2

   Bard and truss

   Take the birds from the cold about 20 minutes before roasting. Check each cavity carefully, especially if the birds were wild-shot, then pat every surface completely dry. Season inside and out with most of the salt and all the pepper. Lay one slice of fatback over each breast and secure it with butcher's twine, tying the legs close to the body without crushing the bird. Wet skin steams and slack trussing cooks unevenly; dryness and a compact shape give the fierce heat a fair chance.

3. 3

   Fry the canapés

   Melt 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g) of the butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. When the foam subsides, fry the bread in batches until crisp and deep butter-gold on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Lower the heat if the butter darkens before the bread colours. Transfer the canapés frits to a wire rack so their undersides stay crisp, then hold them near the stove.

4. 4

   Roast nine minutes

   Working briskly, take out the hot roasting pan and arrange the birds breast-side up with space between them. Return the pan to the oven and start the timer immediately. Roast for exactly 9 minutes without opening the door. The fatback should be translucent and bronzed at its edges, with the exposed skin burnished beneath it. Check the thickest breast with a narrow instant-read thermometer, avoiding bone; it must reach 165°F (74°C). If it falls short, ça se rattrape: return the birds for 30 seconds at a time, shielding only the breast with a small loose piece of foil if it is already dark. Do not casually add another full minute. Transfer the birds to a warm plate and rest them uncovered for 3 minutes.

   The source's nine-minute instruction assumes genuinely tiny birds and a fierce, steady fire. Bird size and oven calibration vary, so the safe internal temperature has the final word.
5. 5

   Make the clear jus

   Pour away excess rendered fat from the roasting pan while preserving its brown glaze. Set the pan over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 45 g) of the cold water, and scrape up every browned speck. Simmer briefly until only a few spoonfuls remain. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter until the jus gleams, then taste and add the reserved salt only if needed. If the butter separates because the pan is too hot, whisk in the reserved cold water a teaspoon at a time. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Set on the bread

   Remove the twine but leave the bronzed barde on the birds. Arrange two canapés frits per person on warm plates or place all eight on an oval serving platter. Spoon a little jus over each canapé, settle a bird on top, and divide the remaining jus over the breasts and around the bread. Serve immediately, while the canapés are crisp at their edges and saturated beneath the birds. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy only legally sourced, properly processed game birds, and match them by dressed weight. The nine-minute fire is written for birds around 3 1/2 to 4 ounces (100 to 115 g); a larger bird is a different calculation, whatever name the dealer gives it.
• •If the birds were wild-shot, feel carefully around the cavities and breasts for pellets and damaged channels. Trim bruised or contaminated flesh. Ask the supplier whether non-lead shot was used.
• •Unsalted fatback is the proper barde because it protects the breast without imposing smoke. If only unsmoked streaky bacon is available, use it and reduce the salt; the result will taste more of pork. Smoked bacon changes the dish too much.
• •Snipe is seasonal and tightly regulated. If it cannot be sourced honestly, quail is the nearest readily available cousin in size and method, but it is not bécassine and should be cooked according to its own weight.
• •Serve with a light, savoury red wine rather than a dense, heavily tannic bottle. The bird is delicate, and the wine should leave room for its gamey sweetness.

Advance Preparation

• •The birds can be checked, dried, barded, and trussed up to 4 hours ahead. Keep them uncovered in the cold so their surfaces remain dry, then take them out 20 minutes before roasting.
• •Trim the bread earlier in the day, but fry the canapés no more than 30 minutes before roasting. Hold them on a wire rack, never stacked, so they remain crisp.
• •The jus cannot be made ahead because its foundation is the fresh roasting glaze. Have the measured water and cold finishing butter beside the stove before the birds enter the oven.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 255g)