Baking Game Birds

I wanted to do a quick post on what I made Thursday night's dinner: game birds. 

When my husband got our four wheeler it opened up a whole new world to him in regard to hunting birds. Before that he'd take small trips to find flocks of ptarmigan to shoot but there are spruce hen and ducks all around us out here.

Some of the guys on a local hunting excursion. I believe these are Grouse but I really don't remember.

In my daughter's shot gun club (Grouse Ridge Rangers) they sometimes have sponsored shoots out at the Falcon Ridge located out Point MacKenzie Rd. He sells chukars (chukar partridge) and pheasants for them to shoot and she brought home 2 of each last year.

My husband had asked if he was wasting his time since he's the only one who had cooked any of the meat so far (ptarmigan nuggets, YUM!) and so I told him to give me some recipes so I'd have an idea. My sister makes these for her family all the time, but I have ventured into this. He printed out 9 pages of recipes.

On Thursday I took about half of our game birds out of the freezer to cook so that we could try them all with the same cooking method and see what we like best. I made a duck, two pheasants, two chukars, and 3 spruce hen. I put rice on the bottom of the 9x13 pans and put a nice Chinese bbq sauce over them, added water to the rice and baked them at 350 for about 2 hours. The recipes I was looking at for game birds varied all over the place from cooking for 20 minutes to 4 hours, so I tried somewhere in between. I put them into the oven and left for 2 hours. When I came home they were cooked, a bit dry (should have added more water and covered tighter) and gobbled them up with the fam. Since there were so many my husband picked the meat off and I cooked the carcases overnight and made a broth (no fat!) and used the extra meat for fried rice and dumplings.

Baked Barbecued Game Birds:

(feeds ~4 people)
1 1/2 c. rice
2-3 birds whole, thawed

Marinade
1/4 c soy sauce
2 garlic cloves-minced
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp Five Spice powder (if you double the recipe, don't add quite as much spice)
2 TBS oil

Wash and dry birds. Mix marinade, rub birds inside and out, let stand for an hour (I didn't have time for this, still good).
Grease 9x13 casserole dish or a dutch oven, pour in rice. Add 3 cups of water, or a bit more if using foil or a loose lid to cover. Arrange birds on top, add more marinade to birds. Cover tightly.
Bake at 350 for ~2 hours. Add more marinade during the cooking if you have more. Check your rice and add water if needed.

Here's a link to my basic Roasted Chicken recipe. I use it for roosters, hens, meat chickens and game birds too. I almost like it better because the 5spice powder is so distinct, you have to be choosy on what recipes to use with the leftovers.

Enjoy.

pheasant pair, light meat, tastes like chicken, medium size closer to small chicken



chukar partradge, light meat, tastes like chicken, small in size




spruce hen (or grouse, not sure of difference) dark meat, tastes like chicken, small in size



On brainwashing...

I recently posted something about guns where I said, "after you drag out that fear that you have been brainwashed with since a little child, you realize that guns are simply tools."

I am too harsh with my words generally speaking. This was too harsh. It especially took my parents aback when they read it and I'm sorry. The word brainwashed is used by me to describe propaganda or innuendos or subliminal messaging in movies, media and schools. It's not the true meaning of the word, and I have mis-used it. I see it plain as day everywhere now, but as a kid it just slowly sunk in.

They did not brainwash me. They raised me in a very wonderful place full of much love and sense of community. We were not afraid of buglers or bears or strangers because we were surrounded by people we knew. The news was on sometimes and I heard it. The newspaper was sitting out and I read it. Whether I paid attention or not, it was going into my head. They were not political people, we didn't have in-depth discussions about things of that nature. I went to private school until 6th grade and then went to public school because our church school didn't go past 6th. The schools feel that it's their duty to educate the children on things such as sex, guns, drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, HIV, and these days they have added global warming, recycling, blind acceptance of homosexuality and probably other things of which I'm not aware.

I have even been known to joke and say that, "If anyone will brainwash my children it will be me and they will have clean brains." But again, after reading the definition today and trying to educate myself before sticking my foot in my mouth yet again, I realize this is just part of education. The schools teach what they want children to learn and homeschooling parents do the same. I strongly believe that in addition to religion, math, English and science they also need to learn gardening, farming, and hunting as part of their education.

My dad is not a hunter; both he and my mom grew up on farms and raised their own beef, chickens, etc. If they were good farmers they had a .22 or larger to protect their livestock from predators since caged chickens and other small animals tend to attract that sort. My dad had a gun but never used it, so I never saw it. It's not a bad thing; just something he didn't think was important to teach. I'm not upset about that nor do I hold it against him.

He gave me the gift if life, a warm beautiful home, stability and most of all he led our family to Orthodoxy and that is the most important thing my parents could have taught me. They, with others in their community searched for the true faith, they left their family's faiths and found it for themselves. They looked for the one thing needful and found it. I'm ever grateful for the things they gave and taught me.

Bows vs Guns

It has long been known in our home that there shall be no bows and arrows since guns are far superior. It was a bit of a disappointment at first because I had fond memories of trying to hit targets with our old bows in grade school. However, being taught how to use a firearm has been wonderfully empowering and given me a very nice sense of being able to defend my children, myself and my home...against bears, predators, or what have you. My husband knows, loves and keeps learning about guns. We don't really have a lot, but after you drag out that fear that you have been brainwashed with since a little child, you realize that guns are simply tools. After working with power tools this summer I learned you have to be CAREFUL with them, because just like guns they will kill you if you're not.

Today began a 4 part homeschooling class that they are letting me take with the kids. In class I hit a bulls-eye and it felt great. Granted, it was only 10 feet away, but it still felt great. Perhaps it's because it's quiet or perhaps because they had a comfy indoor range, but it was a blast to shoot. Perhaps it's that I have a chip on my shoulder now since a girlfriend of mine shot a moose...with her bow...out of her bedroom window. Seriously? She also throws her baby in the back pack and hikes over the frozen river and shoots rabbits. She's my hero.

With bows and arrows it extends your hunting season by quite a bit, you get more at the beginning and I believe more at the end. I've never wanted to hunt myself, I'm not the Sarah Palin type, not even a fan. I don't love a good hike. I don't love roughing it. But perhaps I might feel differently if it were a bow and arrow and I could shoot from the comfort of my home.  I'd love the attention meat!

she's so cute I can't stand it