Alder cone smoked grouse w/ fern root glaze & salal sauce

4 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
2 tablespoons Licorice fern root
2 tablespoons Gewurztraminer icewine
¾ cup Water
3 cups Dried alder cones
2 Wild grouse breasts, bone in and skinless
Juniper & Salal Berry Sauce:
1⅓ cup Water
1½ cup B.C. Pinot Blanc wine
3½ cup Salal Berries
1½ tablespoon Maple syrup
1½ tablespoon Black peppercorns
8 Juniper berries
1½ tablespoon Balsamic vinegar

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

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