I meant to review this sooner but plain forgot! I went on a hunting trip with my male friend and cooked this recipe with the grouse he shot. First of all we took the meat off the bones and "bled" it to get rid of the game-y taste (just soak in salted water overnight in the fridge). When I cooked this the next night and let him taste a piece before dinner he said "Oh my God that's the best thing I've ever eaten." In other words we loved this recipe! It compliments the game bird perfectly. I cooked it exactly like it's written and I honestly can't wait to make it again.
With apologies to MommyFromSeattle I only made the sauce and not the grouse but the sauce is excellent! I have not eaten grouse but I know this would make a superb complement to pheasant. Since I was not using the sauce to cook grouse I reduced it till it was syrupy then drizzled it over risotto cakes from another website. I used apricot preserves but I can't wait to try it with peach--it was so good!
I love it! Try this with Chicken breasts!
This was my first time making grouse and it was so good! I took the advice of another reviewer and brined the bird overnight which may have been why it didn't taste in the least bit gamey.
I used this recipe for two Chukar partridge which are normally pretty well received by my family in any fried or sauteed form. Everyone loved this preparation so I'll probably be expected to go to achieve this level of flavor and sophistication for future game birds. I did not soak them in buttermilk. I doubled the sauce and simmered the birds covered for about 15 minutes after a quick browning. Used apricot preserves and extra garlic which I reintroduced with the bird pieces. Next time I will probably salt and pepper the partridge before cooking. Excellent recipe!
Outstanding. One suggestion...hammer the grouse breasts flat....the bird is dry and this allows for greater sauce surface area.
We made this sauce to go with quail. We found the tarragon flavor to be rather pronounced and it overpowered the quail. Even though our quail came from a hunt they were very mild almost like chicken. Perhaps the tarragon flavor is better suited to birds with a more gamey flavor.
We doubled the ingredients for the sauce. It was a little too buttery so if we do it again (and I'm sure we will!) I'll not put in as much butter.
Very good!!!!! My wife and kids loved it!! I did this recipe with quail pheasant and Chukar came out great!!!