It isn’t easy to find recipes for cooking wild game so The Complete Wild Game Cookbook fromRobert Rose will be appreciated by many.
This cookbook includes 165 recipes from Quebec chef Jean-Paul Grappe for cooking various
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wild game birds and animals including duck, goose, grouse, ptarmigan, quail, turkey, moose, rabbit, beaver, wild boar and even squirrel along with recipes for stocks, marinades, sauces and glazes. These are the kinds of recipes that have made Quebec famous for its gastronomy, a combination of art and quality local ingredients.
Even more, with information on culinary terms, basic cooking techniques, wine pairing and cooking with foraged local plants, this book is a complete primer. And if you don’t have access to game meats, it’s still worth a look. Each recipe includes suggestions for substituting with domestic poultry and meats such as chicken, lamb, pork or beef.
This 368-page book which includes many colour photos is available for $39.95 from Robert Rose Inc. at www.robertrose.ca
Recipe: Goose with gingerbread crust, hollandaise sauce and cranberries
• Preheat oven to 200°F (100°C)
• Food processor
• Heavy-bottomed ovenproof skillet
• Meat thermometer
Ingredients
--6 slices store-bought or homemade soft gingerbread loaf
--2 to 4 goose breasts (depending on their thickness) (each about 7 oz/210 g)
--Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
--1⁄3 cup vegetable oil
--1⁄3 cup unsalted butter
--1⁄3 cup clover honey
--1⁄3 cup apple cider vinegar
--1⁄3 cup melted unsalted butter
--16 asparagus tips
--3⁄4 cup dried cranberries or blueberries
--11⁄4 cups hollandaise sauce (homemade or store-bought)
Method
1. Place six slices of gingerbread loaf on a broiler pan tray and place in preheated oven. Leave in oven until thoroughly dry. Place in food processor and pulse until crushed. Set aside.
2. Increase oven temperature to 350°F (180°C). Generously season goose breasts with salt and pepper. Heat oil and butter in a heavy-bottomed ovenproof skillet. Cook breasts in preheated oven until a thermometer inserted into center of breast registers 118°F (48°C).
3. In a small bowl, combine honey and vinegar. Remove breasts from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 250°F (120°C). Baste breasts with clover honey and apple cider vinegar mixture. Coat breasts with gingerbread loaf crumbs. Place on broiler pan tray and continue to cook in oven, gently pouring a little melted butter on regularly. Remove from oven when meat thermometer inserted into center of breast registers 165°F (74°C) (see Tip, left). Let sit on top of stove, which will “relax” the meat fibers.
4. Cook asparagus until “al dente.” Meanwhile, combine dried cranberries and hollandaise sauce in a large bowl.
5. To Serve: Arrange breasts on plates, add asparagus and pour sauce on top.
Recipe courtesy of The Complete Wild Game Cookbook by Jean-Paul Grappe © 2015 www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with publisher permission. Available where books are sold.
- Helen Lammers-Helps