Soaking Spruce Grouse to get rid of gamey taste other suggestions?

[billjc33]

Been seeing lots of spruce hens this year over ruffs and was wondering what you guys do if anything to get rid of the gamey taste of the spruce and sharptails

[luckynuts]

Don't shoot them:confused:

I have a lot of spruce out my way, try shake and bake works great! Kids love them and my boy is turning out to be a pretty good head hunter with the 410:wink:

[sobirch]

I prefer them just as mother nature intended them. I like them better then ruff.

[Kiwi]

Try slowing cooking with a mixture of sherry and plum sauce...works well for pretty much all gamebirds!!!

[swamper]

I have heard so many people commenting about the gamey taste of spruce grouse, but over the last 40 years I have eaten more than my fair share of them and find them quite palatable. Granted, very late in the season they get a bit of a sprucey taste. If you don't think they don't taste good, spice them up in something like a catcatorie. You could also try soaking them in milk for a few hours prior to cooking. This tends to take away the gamey tastse.
If none of that doesn't work, don't shoot them.

[sparkes3]

i hunt because i like the gamey taste of wild critters

[NaStY]

Use lots of ketchup :mrgreen:

[Bistchen]

Gamey taste?......its called Flavour!

No, serious, Spruce grouse are gamey???? Not the ones i've tried.

[Bistchen]

Sorry,forgot to mention......soak in salted water over night. I do this with Snowshoe hare. Or the old classic, buttermilk.

[1/2 slam]

We soak them in milk. Works great.

[BromBones]

Fry it up in some butter, garlic, salt, pepper, and onions.

If that's too gamey for ya, I don't know what to say;)

[dime]

Grouse will not taste like chicken no matter what you soak it in. If that is what you want then go buy chicken.
Having said that if you want to disguise the flavour lightly fry up a package of bacon and then cut the grouse into nuggets and fry in the fat, then wrap each nugget in the bacon like you would scallops. You could eat just about anything like that and it would be delicious.

[wolverine]

First, what are you shooting them with and where? Unless you are clipping them with head shots any pellets or .22 bullet that goes through the guts and then the breast on the other side is going to foul the meat that some take for a "gamey" taste. Dark meat birds do have a bit of a wild flavor but like someone else said, it tastes like grouse. For sharps and blues I like to cut the breasts into strips and get a pan going with hot olive oil and fresh chopped garlic and toss them in that and kinda stir fry them. Only takes a couple of minutes and they're done. Not the ass fried off em but done. You can also chop some onion into the pan too if you like onion. Serve em up like a side dish. Finest kind, can't be beat. Don't do it with ruffed because the white meat dries out too fast.

Cheers.

[870]

head shots only and soak in milk.

[mr7mm]

i cube up breasts in nuggegts and shake bake and pan fry in butter dont over cook and eat warm a good friend pass this on and it the only way to eat bird in my opinion

[Fisher-Dude]

Stick to shooting hens and yearlings, and you'll be fine. If you shoot an old cockbird, this recipe works every time:

1.) Bring 2 quarts of water to a rolling boil
2.) Salt to taste
3.) Place a large, clean rock in the water
4.) Place grouse in the water with rock
5.) Boil for 1 hour
6.) Remove rock and grouse from water
7.) Throw grouse in the garbage and eat the rock.

[Spuddge]

Last weekend I tried something new with grouse. I had 5 breasts, 1 blue, 1 spruce and 3 ruffies, cut into chunks. Braise them for 4 hours in the following.

-coconut milk
-sour cream
-curry
-onion
-garlic
-Sriracha (Thai hot sauce)
-salt and pepper.

Put a nice big serving on top of rice and enjoy.
It was the best tasting grouse dish I've ever had, meat is nice and tender, even the spruce.

I don't know the measurements, I rarely measure when I cook.

[digger dogger]

Fry it up in some butter, garlic, salt, pepper, and onions.

If that's too gamey for ya, I don't know what to say;)

x2. cut the meat into strips, cook without the bone.

[Rodd]

I marinade them in Italian Salad Dressing for about 4 hours. Yummy! Also the soak in salted water overnight works great for small birds, and waterfoul, and rabbits!

[nano]

You can also use apples to stuff inside the grouse and then wrap bacon around it and BBQ it.Works like a charm.

[kodiak1]

What a waste of good buttermilk.
Fry that wabbit and drink the buttermilk.
LOL!!!!!!!!!

Ken.

[WaterSkeeter]

Hell I like the gamey taste, thats the way they are.

[Sundance1972]

Personally, i like the gamey taste. That's why i hunt, to get meat that actually tastes like meat.

If i'm lucky enough to get a couple birds, i stir fry them in a light teriyaki sauce with fresh veggies, served on a bed of rice or pasta.
Sometimes i'll make "chicken nuggets" and fries for my kids. They must be good, because they always clean their plates and ask if theres any more. Almost have to force feed the fries, apparently "they suck" compared to the nuggets!!

[bforce750]

Buttermilk works the best for tough or gamey meat.

[jml11]

Not a fan of Spruce Grouse myself so I simply don't shoot them. There are enough Ruffed running around to satisfy my grouse fix.

[.330 Dakota]

We wrap them in bacon and throw some spices on them and then into the oven at 375 for 45 minutes...no game taste at all

[JCVD]

Buttermilk over night, then toss in some seasoned flour and fry in grape seed oil.

[echo]

Haven't cooked much grouse, but have cooked mallard that I stuffed the cavity with chunks of apples and oranges and then discarded them before carving the duck --took strong gaminess out altogether --- so maybe you could try cooking the grouse with apples and oranges and serve on a bed of rice that way you'd get your meat, grains and fruits in one serving :-D ~Echo

[Akula]

Everything is better when it's wrapped in bacon!