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Show Wdnesdoy, Novembw 26, 1986 Vima! fff8if 1 3 "3 Q V "'V . 'fn lift- 'tflr 'is? A- - ! ln- THE TRADITIONAL Thanksgiving turkey has those captured in the wild by Pilgrims and fattened up and is much more tender than dians for their annual feast. Fine ffeattlhierecS feastts By Merle Young Express Feature Editor A platter filled to overflowing with a fragrant turkey stuffed with a sage flavored dressing will grace the tables of most Americans on Thanksgiving day. But, turkey is only on-ly one of many succulent birds available as a feast's main-dish in this great country. America offers all sorts of game and domestic feathered creatures that can be harvested for food. Pheasant, Phea-sant, grouse, quail, partridge, chicken, ptarmingan, duck, geese, guinea fowl, woodcock, snipe, doves, wild turkey, and pine hen, to name a few. -An important factor in the successful suc-cessful cooking of game birds is the determination of their age. Successfully Suc-cessfully cooking an older bird requires re-quires a different set of rules than preparing a young one of a similar species. A good general rule to follow is to braise rather than roast an old bird. This applies especially to the goose among waterfowl and to the pheasant among the gallinaceous birds. Ducks and smaller chicken-like birds are usually tender enough to make age determination unnecessary when deciding how to cook them. But it goes without saying that no old bird should be chicken- fried or broiled. A fairly reliable way to establish age among birds is to note the shape of the tip ends of the first two or three primary wing feathers. If they are ' rounded, the bird is likely a two year old. If definitely pointed, they Indicate In-dicate a young bird, probably a bird of that year. If you receive your bird featherlcss, its age is anyone's guess. A couple of other tests may be looking look-ing at the spur on pheasants and turkeys. The length of the spur will be no more than a nub on a young cock. If the bird is a hen, or the feet are gone, once again you may have to guess. Still others use a test of the flexibility flex-ibility of the lower mandible. If the beak breaks during the test, the bird is usually a young one, Hanging birds with their feathers still on to improve the flavor is a matter mat-ter of taste among fowl gourmets. It may be okay to hang birds in the feather for four or five days in the fall when the temperature is 30 to 40 degrees at night and no higher than 50 during the day. As the bird hangs in this manner, some cells in the meat will break down and tenderize. Hanging in warmer temperatures, however, will cause spoilage. When the bird is being dressed, shot pellets should be carefully removed. You and your guests may not enjoy the shock of biting down on a piece of lead. Some of the experts use the point of a tweezer to probe for the lead and remove the pellets with the same tool. A clue that a pellet may be present is "balled" feather flues stuck in the meat. When the bird is cleaned, soaked and ready for cooking, the chef must decide which of the thousands of excellent ex-cellent recipes to use. The Italians and French like to spiff up the game with sauces and exotic additions to the fare. Chicken breasts with pistachio nuts, pine nuts and paprika come from these countries. Turkey can be equally as exciting with ingredients like champagne (alcohol dissapates during cooking) used to flavor the dressing. A recipe for stuffed Iranian duck calls for sultana raisins and pine nuts. Goose may be flavored with curry, mushrooms, and cheeses, say the chefs. Guinea hen with walnuts could please the taste buds of others. Some recipes from the North American Wild Game Cookbook by Bill and Anita Mabbutt are included with this article that you may want to try. Cooks who have never dressed a bird from scratch haven't had to sort through the innards to find giblets. They are used to getting them from a little paper bag in the dress birds cavity. If you choose to cook the liver, make sure that the little green bag of gall embedded in the organ is carefully removed. If it is punctured, the liver will be bitter. The gizzard is a tough muscle that holds gravel a bird ingests as a means to grind its food. The gizzard must be cut open and the gravel and food matter dumped out. The Inner lining can be stripped away leaving a tasty, chewy piece of meat. The heart and gizzard may be cooked much the same way, but take five or six times the cooking time as the liver. All of the giblets can be diced and used In dressing, soups and for garnish. Every wild game hunter has his or her own special secrets for preparing fowl. Some place herbs under the skin of the bird before cooking. Birds are marinated in concoctions such as vinegar, milk and oil and spices. They are rubbed with garlic butter, wrapped in bacon, stuffed with apples. ap-ples. Most consumers say they are trying to take away the "wild" taste. The old timers know, however, that the animal is going to take on a specific taste according to its diet. They hunt in the areas where what the bird eats, makes a better tasting meat. Pheasant under glass, pressed duck, and roast quail bring exorbitant exorbi-tant prices in the world's finest restaurants. Why pressing a duck makes it taste better or the reason a m 0 GUINEA FOWL, abundant in Utah, are very tasty to eat, according ac-cording to gourmet cooks. pheasant under glass becomes worth so much more is known only to those who purchase and eat the birds. Braised duck in Creole sauce or with madcria and herb gravy may perk up your hunger. Maybe wild goose braised in sauerkraut and ale may be the bend of hearty flavor that trips the flow of saliva. Snipe soup, either clear or thick, may be your idea of a tasty dish. Whatever your preference In eating birds may be, America, and particularly Utah, are abundantly rich with fowl. The other bird varieties may never replace a traditional Thanksgiving turkey nor a Christmas goose, but they do offer a wide variety of new flavors, textures and adventures for those who are ready for a fine feathered feast. 4 r' . - . - V K. t r if 4 1, au ...1 WHO EVER SAID "Birds of a feather fkxk tcgeihef," hadn't leen the variety of birds Share torn and grain at the Gene Anfmson farm. Any one of those pictured Could maVe a nice meal. However, mm of these ducK geese, Guinea fowl, and thickens have become famify pels. DEEP DISH DUCK PIE 2 ducks, any age or size 1 gallon water V2 cup salt 1 Tbsp. salt 2 unpeeled apples, quartered 1 quartered onion 1 branch celery, cut up 1 slice ginger root, 18-inch thick 12 small white onions 6 carrots, pared and cut in 1-inch lengths 4 potatoes, pared and cut in 1-inch cubes Vz tsp. salt Vs cup butter 6 Tbsp. flour xk tsp. salt Vz sp. white pepper 2 cups milk 1 (4 oz.) can mushrooms with liquid or V4-lb. fresh mushrooms sauteed in 1 Tbsp. butter with cooking liquid 2 (8 oz.) can refrigerated biscuits Soak ducks overnight in 1 gallon water with y2 cup salt. Drain, rinse in cold water. Place ducks in a deep kettle. Add enough water to cover birds. Add 1 Tbsp. salt, apples, onion, celery and ginger root to the kettle. Boil 3 hours, or until ducks are tender. Drain, reserving broth. Cool ducks, bone, and cut into bite-size pieces. Strain broth and discard vegetables. Put small onions carrots, potatoes and Vz tsp. salt in kettle and add 1 cup reserved liquid. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Drain, reserving liquid. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat. Add flour, salt and pepper. Heat and blend but do not brown. Remove from heat. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. Return saucepan to stove and over moderate heat, stir until un-til thickened. Add mushrooms and their liquid. Preheat oven to 450. Combine duck meat, sauce and vegetables in an oiled 8xl3x2-inch casserole. Arrange biscuits over the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden. Makes 8 servings. Variation: Brown Va tsp. curry powder with the flour before adding the milk to the sauce. FRIED PHEASANT MARINATED IN SOUR CREAM 2 pheasants, disjointed 2 cups sour cream or 2 cups buttermilk 1 tsp. pepper 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp. Lawry's seasoned salt 1 tsp. paprika 1 tsp. dried mustard 1 tsp. garlic salt Va cup lemon juice 1 cup flour 1 tsp. Lawry's seasoned salt 1 Tbsp. paprika 1 tsp. pepper Va cup salad oil Place pheasant pieces in a large glass or enamel bowl. If birds are large, split each breast into four pieces. Combine sour cream or buttermilk, pepper, Worcestershire Wor-cestershire sauce, 1 tsp. Lawry's seasoned salt, 1 tsp. paprika, dry mustard, garlic salt and lemon juice. Pour mixture over pheasant and mix well to coat pieces. Marinate in refrigerator 12 hours then drain, discarding marinade. In paper bag, combine flour, 1 tsp. Lawry's seasoned salt, 1 Tbsp. paprika and 1 tsp. pepper. Add pheasant pieces and shake bag to dredge. Remove pheasant phea-sant to a sheet of waxed paper and let stand 15 minutes to dry coating. In skillet heat oil, add pheasant pieces a few at a time and fry until tender and browned, about 25 minutes, turning several times. Makes 6 servings. SAGE HEN BREASTS WITH CASHEW NUTS Breasts of 2 young sage hens 1 cup cashew nuts 2 Tbsp. margarine, softened ',2 cup salad oil 1 cup cream 1 Tbsp. Kitchen Bouquet 1 Tbsp. brandy 2 tsp. salt Split each breast in half and remove bone. Flatten by placing breasts between bet-ween waxed paper and rolling with a rolling pin. In a blender, chop cashew nuts. Add margarine and blend. Coat one side of each fillet, roll up as you would a jelly roll and secure with cotton string or toothpicks. In a large skillet, heat salad oil and brown breasts on all sides quickly over medium heat. Cover and cook slowly 30 minutes, adding U cup water if necessary. Combine remaining ingredients, and pour over breasts. Heat gently, gent-ly, but do not boil. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings. BRAISED DOVES 4 doves a cup flour 2 tsp. garlic salt 2 tsp. popper 4 cup bacon fat 1 cp chopped onions 2 cups tomato sauce 2 Tbsp. chopped green chilies 1 Tbsp. Worchcstershire sauce U tsp. crushed oregano a tep. crushed rosemary 4 tsp. cumin seed 2 cups water Combine flour, garlic salt and pepper in a paper bag, add birds and &hake bag to dredge. In a Dutch oven or other heavyboltomed pot with tight fitting lid, heat bacoit fat over medium high heat, add birds and brown well, turning often. Add chopped chop-ped onion to skillet and stir for 3 minutes. Combine all remaining ingredients, pour over birds and cover. tiOwcr heat and simmer for 1 hour. Makes 4 servings. 1 i n |