Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean Romig
And just for you Tom, I’ll pluck one of mine and roast it your way. Please give me your cooking instructions so I can enjoy it the same way you do.
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I never cook the woodcock by themselves. I put two or three grouse in the oven first and after a while add the woodcock. I put a pad of butter on the birds backs and lightly salt and pepper. Sometimes I'll put a little paprika on because it looks nice on the cooked birds. I slice an onion and cook it with the birds. Woodcock take about 20 minutes to a half hour at 300 degrees, depending on the stove. I make a gravy from the drippings using Gravy Master to darken it a bit. The little fat strips under the skin of the woodcock is very tasty. The skin and legs are the best part, in my opinion.
I am an absolute fanatic about my game. I age all my game including birds in a refrigerator I have set up for the purpose. I like my grouse aged for five days and woodcock the same in the refrigerator kept at 38 degrees. I place waxed paper over them to keep the uppermost layers from drying out. It is important that they are not wrapped and air circulates around them during aging. Aging makes the birds more tender and I believe, adds a nice mellow taste. Sometimes I just put the drawn birds in the refrigerator with the feathers on. It works well and you don't need the waxed paper but they are harder to pluck and therefore you have an increased danger of ripping the skin. If I have too many birds to pluck after hunting, I just do some every day.