Woodcock Pate
 

In my home ,I seem to be the only one who has aquired a taste for these little birds ,so to try to find a way to prepare them for all to enjoy ,I tried a spread for on crackers ,and it is delicious !

1. Clean 8 Woodcock Breasts ,
2. 1Lb of Butter
3. 2 Cloves of Garlic
4. 1 Tsp. of Black Pepper
5. 1 Shallot
   
   Melt butter in sauce pan ,add garlic ( Crushed ) add Shallot and Black Pepper , Next Cook Woodcock ,until breasts are just pink inside ,slice into small chunks ,stir into the other ingredients ,remove from pan and put into your kitchen blender, Whip until smooth ,pour into Ramikins ,put in fridge, , till chilled , serve with your favorite crackers ! Absolutly Delicious ! Russ

Russ, is this pate prepared "trails in"?

Dean , NO , Birds fully cleaned ,if I am following you ? This really is very good ,has a nice rich flavor ,One of my favorite hunts is for Woodcock ,years ago when the limit was five birds a day ,I would do this with 10 Birds ,a two days hunt if the flights were good ,now our limit is three birds a day ,so you have to clean a bird or two and chill them until you get enough for a batch or you can cut the recipe a bit to match the amount of birds you have available ! Generally speaking a pound to a pound and a half of Woodcock breasts !

Sounds tasty Russ. My favorite way of preparing woodcock is to sautee the breasts only in clarified butter for a minute to a minute and a half on one side, flip them and remove from heat in just less than a minute. They will be brown on the outsite and nicely rare on the inside. Cooked in this manner they are fit for royalty. They go nicely with sauteed and salted asparagus spears and your favorite wine or other beverage.

Dean ,Your recipe sounds delicious, if the Birds cooperate ,I will be giving it a try,I will also add the asparagus spears ,one of my favorite vegetables ! A nice tossed salad and some home made bread would go well also ! Dean let me know what you think of the Pate ,if you give it a try !

I will Russ but I'll be pretty hard-pressed to come up with a pound or more of woodcock breasts. I may need to cut the recipe to accomodate the four or five woodcock I would be lucky enough to scare up in my neck of the Vt woods.

Russ,

Does freezing the breast pieces effect the taste? Thinking this would be a good way to use a season's worth of woodcock.

JDG

Freezing fish filets in a milk jug filled with water doesn't hurt the fish. Why not put in the breasts as you get them, adding water each time.

Jay ,I would agree with John ,on freezing in water ,I find I can keep wild game in the fridge cleaned for a few days ,what ever Woodcock ,I have at that time ,I generally adjust the recipe ,I don't believe ,I have ever taken frozen breasts out and tried it ,but as John says ,fish frozen in water ,the fish taste just caught !

Does anyone use a vacuum packer to seal game in bags before freezing? I just liberated one from my mother-in-law and wonder how effective they really are.