Grives et Merles de Corse (Thrushes and Corsican Blackbirds)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small heavy metal roasting pan fitted with a wire rack
• •12-inch / 30 cm skillet
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Kitchen twine or wooden picks
• •Small warmed sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven

   Set a wire rack inside the smallest heavy metal roasting pan that will hold the birds without crowding. Heat the oven to 475°F / 245°C. A compact pan keeps the scant drippings from scorching across a broad, empty surface and gives you enough fond for the jus.

2. 2

   Prepare the birds

   Pat every bird completely dry inside and out. If using lawful shot game, inspect the flesh and cavities carefully for stray shot, quills, and damaged tissue. Tuck one juniper berry inside each thrush and none inside the blackbirds, exactly as the entry directs. For the quail adaptation, put one berry into four birds and leave four plain. Add no salt or pepper; the bacon seasons the exterior, and the juniper is seasoning enough. Fold in the wing tips, draw the legs together, and truss each bird compactly.

3. 3

   Bard the birds

   Wrap one thin bacon slice around each bird, covering the breast and overlapping the ends beneath the back. Secure it with kitchen twine or a wooden pick. This is barder, wrapping lean meat in fat for protection, and it must stay: these birds are too small and lean to face fierce heat bare. If the bacon is thick, press it thinner between two sheets of parchment before wrapping; heavy rashers will remain rubbery during such a brief roast.

4. 4

   Fry the cushions

   Melt 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 56 g) butter in a wide skillet over medium heat until its foam settles. Fry the bread in batches until deeply golden on both sides, adding the remaining butter as the pan dries. Hold the cushions uncovered on a rack so their undersides remain crisp. If the butter blackens, wipe out the pan and begin the next batch with fresh butter. Ça se rattrape.

5. 5

   Roast them fast

   Arrange the birds breast-side up on the roasting rack, leaving a little air between them. Roast without opening the oven for 10 minutes, then check the deepest part of a thigh with an instant-read thermometer, avoiding bone. Tiny game birds generally reach 165°F / 74°C within the source's 10 to 12 minutes; farmed quail may require 12 to 15 minutes. If they are not ready, continue in 2-minute intervals. If the bacon colors too quickly first, shield only the bacon with small pieces of foil. The thermometer decides, because a dry bird cannot be returned to succulence.

   Thin bacon should bronze at its edges, but its first duty is protection. Never extend the roast merely to make the bacon crisper once the birds have reached temperature.
6. 6

   Make the short jus

   Transfer the birds to a board, remove the twine or picks, and cover them loosely while you make the jus très court. Pour off the fat from the roasting pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) with the browned deposits. Set the pan over medium heat, add the poultry stock, and scrape up every trace of fond. Boil briskly until reduced to about ⅓ cup (80 ml / 80 g), glossy but still fluid. If the bacon has made it too salty, add up to ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) water and stop reducing as soon as balance returns. Ça se rattrape. Strain into a warm sauceboat.

7. 7

   Dish and serve

   Arrange the fried bread cushions on a warm oval platter and set one bird on each, letting the bread catch the resting juices. Allow three tiny game birds or two quail per person. Serve the jus separately, as the source requires, so each guest can spoon on only enough to moisten the bread. No garnish is needed. Bacon, bronze, buttered bread, and a little glossy jus are the whole appearance. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The dish begins with lawful sourcing. Wild thrushes and blackbirds may be protected or tightly controlled where you live, so buy them only through an approved game dealer with clear provenance. Farmed quail preserves the small size, lean flesh, and rapid roasting method without pretending the substitution is invisible.
• •Ask for unsmoked streaky bacon sliced nearly translucent. Smoke would bury the maquis character, while thick bacon cannot render before the birds are done. The bacon supplies the salt, so none goes directly onto the birds.
• •If buying lawful shot game, ask whether non-lead ammunition was used and inspect each bird carefully even if the dealer dressed it. Warn guests that small bones demand patient eating.
• •The jus is meant to be scant. It is not a bowlful of sauce, only the concentrated roasting juices loosened with stock and served separately. A broad roasting pan will burn those few precious drippings, so use the smallest metal pan that fits.
• •Pour a light Corsican red based on Sciaccarellu, whose peppery red-fruit character sits beside the juniper without smothering it. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.

Advance Preparation

• •The birds may be inspected, dried, trussed, and barded up to 4 hours ahead. Keep them covered in the refrigerator, then take them out while the oven heats.
• •Cut the bread cushions and measure the stock earlier in the day. Fry the bread no more than 30 minutes before serving and hold it uncovered on a rack.
• •Do not roast the birds ahead. Their brief cooking and immediate service are the dish, while the trussing and bread cutting are the work that can wait.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 275g)