Cooking Recipe Alder Cone Smoked Grouse W/ Fern Root Glaze & Salal Sauce
Recipe Ingredients
Directions
Recipe from Northern Bounty: A Celebration of Canadian Cuisine. The
ISBN is 0-394-22431-0. Recipe by Sinclair Philip, owner of the Sooke
Harbour House on Vancouver Island. Sinclair believes in local
ingredients, freshness and learning about and using wild ingredients
from the native peoples. His restaurant has vegetable and herb
gardens full of plants transplanted from the bush for use in the
kitchen. At Sooke, chefs prepare this dish with a salad of foraged
wild greens and flowers: amaranth, chicory, chickweed, lamb's
quarters, orache, shepherd's purse, and sorrel.
Alder: a deciduous tree, member of the birch family with woody cone
like fruits. Common in swamps and mountainous areas. [ I am going to
try black spruce cones- our commonest local tree. (Update: this was a
terrible idea- bitter tarry smoked taste) If that doesn't work I can
fall back on store bought fruit wood chips or do a Chinese Tea
Smoke.- JW]
Licorice Fern: I have no idea what it's geographic range is or what
flavor it's root would impart. Based on it's name I am going to try
diced Fennel bulb, Fennel seed or a _wee_ bit of Star Anise stewed in
Port instead.-JW
Salal Berries: Salal is a low [up to 2 meter] evergreen shrub of the
Heath family native to California, B.C. and Alaska with white to pink
urn shaped flowers and round purple berries which turn black. [There
are none locally so I will be experimenting with cranberries or
black currants.- JW]
Directions:
In a small covered sauce pan, gently simmer fern root in icewine and
water for 20 min. Pour into a glass jar, seal and let stand at room
temp for 12 hours. Strain into a small saucepan and boil, uncovered,
on high until reduced to a thick syrup. Set aside.
Heat alder cones in a large aluminum foil lined sauce pan over high
heat until they smoulder. Reduce heat to low; place grouse breasts
directly on top of the smouldering cones. Lightly brush the breasts
with the fern root glaze; cover pan tightly. Smoke breasts for 3
hours or until cooked but not dry. Remove the meat from the bone and
serve with Juniper-Salal Berry Sauce.
For the sauce: Pour 1 cup water and the wine into the bottom of a per-
forated double boiler. Place the salal berries in the top section.
Cover; simmer gently for two hours. Gently press berries with a
rubber spatula to extract remaining juice. Discard berries; reserving
syrup in the bottom of the double boiler.
To the salal syrup, add the maple syrup, peppercorns, juniper berries,
remaining water and balsamic vinegar. Bring to the boil and
immediately remove from the heat; let stand an hour before returning
to the heat. Cook, uncovered, until slightly thickened. Refrigerate
until needed.
posted by Jim Weller