Grouses, Coqs de Bruyère (Black Game)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large shallow flameproof roasting pan, about 16 x 12 inches / 40 x 30 cm
• •Instant-read digital thermometer
• •Medium heavy saucepan for sauce au pain
• •3-quart / 3-liter deep heavy pan and frying thermometer
• •Mandoline with hand guard
• •Spider or slotted spoon
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Sharp carving knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the birds

   Inspect each bird carefully for pinfeathers, loose shot, and damaged meat around any shot channels. Remove what you find, but don't rinse the birds; wipe the cavities and pat every surface thoroughly dry. Season inside and out with 1½ teaspoons of the salt and ½ teaspoon of the ground pepper, then leave them uncovered for 30 minutes while you make the accompaniments. Dry skin bronzes. Wet skin turns soft before the breast is cooked.

   The source insists on very fresh birds. They should smell clean and faintly mineral, never sour, sweetly stale, or strongly ammoniacal. If the flesh is tacky or the odor is wrong, change the plan, not the standard.
2. 2

   Make sauce au pain

   Stud the onion with the cloves and place it in a saucepan with the milk, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Bring the milk just to the point where its surface quivers, cover, and remove it from the heat for 15 minutes. Strain, discard the aromatics, and reserve ¼ cup of the infused milk. Return the rest to gentle heat, stir in the breadcrumbs, and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes until the sauce is soft, thick, and spoonable. Stir in the cream, butter, nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon salt, and a pinch of the remaining pepper. If it tightens like stuffing, whisk in reserved milk a spoonful at a time; if it is loose, simmer uncovered for another minute or two. Ça se rattrape. Cover directly at the surface and keep warm over the gentlest heat.

3. 3

   Fry pommes chips

   Slice the potatoes crosswise about 1⁄16 inch or 1.5 mm thick with a mandoline and its hand guard. Rinse the slices in several changes of cold water until the water is clear, soak for 10 minutes, then dry them completely between clean towels. Heat the frying oil in a deep, heavy pan to 340°F / 170°C, keeping the pan no more than half full. Fry in small batches for 3 to 5 minutes, separating the slices with a spider, until crisp and pale gold. Drain on a rack and season with ½ teaspoon salt. If a batch bends after cooling, the oil fell too low; bring it to 355°F / 180°C and refry the chips for 30 to 45 seconds. Water and hot oil are bad company, so every potato must be dry.

4. 4

   Toast chapelure frite

   Warm the clarified butter in a wide skillet over medium heat, add the breadcrumbs, and stir constantly for 5 to 7 minutes until they are evenly crisp and the color of buttered toast. Spread them immediately on a plate so the residual heat doesn't darken them. If one side begins browning before the crumbs feel dry, pull the skillet off the heat and keep stirring; the stored heat will finish them without burning the butter.

5. 5

   Roast to blushing

   Heat the oven to 450°F / 230°C with a shallow roasting pan inside. Rub the birds with the clarified butter, set them breast-side up in the hot pan, and roast for 10 minutes. Baste with the softened butter, rotate the pan, and begin checking the thickest part of each breast without touching bone. Hazel hens may be ready after 10 to 15 minutes total; larger black grouse usually need 16 to 24 minutes. Remove each bird as its breast reaches 149°F / 65°C, then rest it for 10 minutes in a draft-free place. Carryover should bring the center close to 154°F / 68°C while leaving it moist and blushing. If the skin darkens too quickly before the center is ready, shield only the breast loosely with foil. If the thermometer reaches the mark before the skin looks as dark as you hoped, take the bird out anyway. Color can disappoint; a dry breast cannot be called back.

   Game birds vary too much for a clock to rule them. Begin checking early, clean the thermometer probe between birds, and trust the temperature.
6. 6

   Build the jus

   While the birds rest, pour excess fat from the roasting pan but leave every browned deposit behind. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cold stock, then add the remainder to the pan and scrape up the fond over medium-high heat. If the roasting pan cannot sit safely on the stove, scrape everything into a saucepan. Reduce for 6 to 10 minutes, until about ¾ cup remains and the jus lightly coats a spoon. Add the birds' resting juices and taste before using the remaining salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and monter au beurre, whisk in the cold diced butter until the jus gleams. If the butter separates, stop the heat and whisk in the reserved cold stock one teaspoon at a time. Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Carve breasts only

   Reheat the sauce au pain gently, loosening it with any remaining infused milk if needed. Run a sharp knife tight along each side of the breastbone, then follow the ribs to lift the breast lobes whole with their bronzed skin intact. The source is plain about serving the breasts alone, so reserve the legs and carcasses for a thoroughly cooked stock or salmis rather than crowding them onto the platter. Spoon the sauce au pain beside the breasts, never over their crisp skin, add generous mounds of chapelure frite and pommes chips, and pour the jus around the meat. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy legally harvested birds from a reputable game dealer and ask when they were dressed. The source wants them very fresh, not heavily hung. Properly frozen birds are an honest choice if they were frozen promptly; thaw them slowly in the refrigerator and dry them well.
• •Run clean fingers carefully over the flesh for shot, paying particular attention to dark bruised channels. Remove visible pellets and discard badly damaged meat. Tell your guests that the birds are wild-shot, since one small pellet can occasionally escape inspection.
• •The classical direction calls for moderately underdone meat. Here that means moist and blushing, not raw, with temperature measured rather than guessed. Pregnant diners and anyone very young, elderly, or immunocompromised should receive game birds cooked to 165°F / 74°C, as should anyone whose local public-health guidance requires it.
• •The legs are not waste. Chill them and the carcasses within two hours, then cook them thoroughly the next day with onion, carrot, and water for a small game stock. Serving the breasts alone is judgment, not extravagance.
• •Pour an earthy Pinot Noir or a restrained northern Rhône Syrah. The wine should meet the bird's woodland depth without burying the delicate sauce au pain.

Advance Preparation

• •The milk for the sauce au pain can be infused, strained, cooled, and refrigerated up to one day ahead. The finished sauce can be made up to four hours ahead and reheated very gently, with reserved milk added as needed.
• •The chapelure frite can be prepared one day ahead. Cool it completely before sealing it in a dry container, then warm it in a skillet for one minute before serving.
• •The pommes chips can be fried up to two hours ahead and kept uncovered on a rack. After the birds leave the oven, recrisp them for 3 to 4 minutes at 375°F / 190°C while the meat rests.
• •The birds can be seasoned and left uncovered in the refrigerator for up to four hours, which dries the skin well. Bring them out 30 minutes before roasting. Do not roast them ahead; the narrow moment between juicy and dry is the dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 510g)