Spruce Grouse Vs. Ruffed Grouse Meat

[Ben Fougere]

Which is better (or do you prefer) and why, spruce grouse or ruffed grouse?

Anyone have any recipes for Spruce grouse?

[Wild one]

Prefer ruff because they are good no matter how you cook them

Spruce are still not getting passed on and the younger white meat spruce are still a versatile meat. Older dark meat spruce I use for stew, stir fry or breaded with a spicy Cajun style breading and pan fried

[elch jager]

Here in BC, I prefer Spruce... I enjoy the slightly gamier flavour and find they retain more moisture making the texture less chewy... In Ontario, we much preferred Ruffed... the Spruce there tasted much more gamey than here in BC. Likely due to what their diet was/is.

[russm]

I’ve only shot one spruce and it tasted rather woody compared to a ruffed, but blues taste better than both.

[Blainer]

Another vote for Ruffed
Sharptail are another tasty grouse

[BRvalley]

I prefer ruffed, but will only pass on sprucies if I already have a few ruffed on the rope...ruffies I cook like I would any chicken recipe, late season spruce will tend to put them in a stew, curry, etc to mask the gamier flavour...but they all taste good when you mcnugget them too

[ncurrie]

Spruce does have a gamier taste, but if you soak them in milk for a bit it cures that. Any grouse is one of my favourite meats to eat. My kids love when I make home made Mac and cheese with grouse and bacon.

https://instagram.com/p/BaKhYafH7ea/

[BRrooster]

prefer Ruffed , even the kids now have had enough Spruce and we let them walk. We had a Ruffed grouse that was kinda a hunting camp pet. He would come around
and feed and put put put around while we were going over our morning hunts around the campfire. So I told my brother in law that he was not allowed to whack him.
Said the grouses name was George. Later that season Brother in law told me that whenever he saw a grouse he would jump out of the truck and yell, "are you George" , and if the grouse didn't answer he got whacked.
As for recipes, we like to chunk up the grouse breasts and sometimes the thighs and season them then fry em up for bite size bits. Spruce grouse, we boil up with
a rock , throw the grouse away and eat the rock.

[mpotzold]

The grouse we normally hunt are the Ruffed & Blue. On a rare occasion a Spruce grouse aka Fool Hen will be shot with a gun or taken with an hatchet/axe throw.


From my experience the Ruffed that I’ve hunted since a teen has the best taste & is more tender.

No special spices or overnight soaking in buttermilk is needed. The breast is cut in pieces cooked in a frying pan using butter & olive oil with salt,pepper & garlic.


Blue grouse is much bigger & in the fall tastes like chewing on conifer needles & the meat is more chewier.


Spruce is OK until late fall when it tastes like spruce/pine needles.

The Spruce is hard to see because it rarely flushes & sits tight hiding in the branches.
Remember on a hunt near Germansen with R.M. killing a Spruce in the dense woods coming down the mountain & within minutes cooking it over fire using sharp alder sticks. The taste was great(probably because we were starved:smile:)

[quadrakid]

I like spruce grouse,then ruffed or willow as the island boys say.

[Wild one]

After reading this thread earlier I got hungry and now 7 grouse have lost their lives all because of this thread

To the op I hope you’re happy it’s all your fault lol

[two-feet]

Got 15 sprucies over the weekend, did panko shnitzel with them. Very good! But willow grouse are better eaters, just not as dumb.

[whitlers]

I prefer ruffed for sure. Just tastes better to me

[srupp]

Hmm prefer ruffed.
However Susan does not like to cook grouse, nor bunnies , nor any liver of any moose, deer..so the effort I fear to cook grouse to a tender consistently my not be there.im not sure I even know how to keep grouse meat tender?
Cheers
Steven

[russm]

Even better than grouse is chuckers, those little *******sare delicious.

[scoutlt1]

I prefer ruffed, but I'm good with all grouse meat.

Most of the time I cook with olive oil, but for grouse I like to use grapeseed oil because it's good for high heat.
I cut the meat into similar sized pieces, and fry up hot and fast. Sometimes with Panko, shake and bake, most of time just salt and pepper.
Make sure the oil is super hot, add the grouse meat (don't overcook it!), and enjoy some of the best appetizers ever!

[barry1974w]

I prefer ruffed, but spruce grouse are more accommodating for my son (he’s still learning and not all that quick to get ready) so we still take a few. The spruce normally go in chicken corn chowder or chicken pot pie along with any shot up ruffies. Ruffed in good shape get used anywhere I’d use chicken. Just try not to over cook it or it starts to get dry and chewy.

[REMINGTON JIM]

Ruffed - Willow GROUSE by far Nice white meat Very Mild Flavour somewhat like Pheasant ! :wink: jmo RJ

[mpotzold]

Ruffed - Willow GROUSE by far Nice white meat Very Mild Flavour somewhat like Pheasant ! :wink: jmo RJ

The good old days when in high school in Kit-Wat area.
Went hunting alone every Saturday for Ruffed grouse, Pheasant & cottontail rabbit. The pheasants by far were most difficult to shoot but the meat was something to die for when cooked properly. So was the grouse.

The cottontail rabbit was delicious much better and more tender than European hare which was barely edible.

Remember these birds/animals ate nothing but the best from the farmers fields!:smile:

[180grainer]

Which is better (or do you prefer) and why, spruce grouse or ruffed grouse?

Anyone have any recipes for Spruce grouse?
Spruce Grouse taste awful and should be considered and conserved as survival food.

[REMINGTON JIM]

Spruce Grouse taste awful and should be considered and conserved as survival food.

Yea My OPINION too ! :cry: RJ

[Ben Fougere]

Great responses people. I will let my boys decide when we feast on grouse meat as a family.

I prefer ruffed grouse myself.