Recipes

Wood Duck Casserole

Ingredients
2 Wood Duck breasts and legs
1 Tin of apricot nectar
1 Tin of strained halved apricots
1 Packet of French onion soup
1 Onion cut into rings

Method
Place all ingredients into a casserole pot. Cook in slow to moderate oven for approximately three hours. Serves four adults

Duck Pate

Ingredients
2 Ducks
1 Onion
2 Juniper berries
½ Pound of butter
Black pepper corns
Salt to taste
1port glass of Grand Marnier
1 port glass of Cointreau 

Method
Cut two ducks into half place into pressure cooker with 1 to 2 juniper berries, one onion and some water, cook slowly. When cooked and cooled strip meat from duck and save. Discard bones and skin. Fry leftover onion in ¼ pound of butter until the butter melts, add other half of butter until melted, pour this and the meat into processor with black pepper corns and salt. Add one port glass of cointreau or grand marnier. Blend into a smooth texture, place into pots and chill until solid.

Roast Wild Duck

Ingredients
1 Duck
2 cups chopped apple
½ cup raisins
150g fatty bacon rashers
Salt to taste
 
Method
Rub the insides with salt. Fill the cavity with chopped apples and raisins.
Cover the breasts with bacon slices.
Roast the duck in moderate 180 degree oven for at least 1 hour, check every half hour.

For best results cook in oven bag and remove from bag 15 minutes prior to serving to brown. Duck can be seasoned more with salt and paprika if desired.

Quail Casserole

Ingredients
8 to 12 Quail
1 Tin of peeled tomatoes
3 Carrots
2 Potatoes
3 Sicks of celery
1 heaped teaspoon of brown sugar
 A generous glass of red wine
 Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Slice carrots, potatoes and onions into cubes. Place into a casserole pot, Quail, vegetables, tomatoes (with juice) and red wine. Add salt and pepper and brown sugar. Cook in low to moderate oven for 2 to 3 hours or until meat falls off the bone.

Partridge, Pigeon or Quail with Lemon Mushroom & Tarragon

This recipe can be used with either of the above mentioned birds.

Ingredients
2 Partridge, 2 Pigeon or 8 Quail
30gm butter
2 small white onions
250gm small mushrooms
1 tblspn plain flour
75ml dry sherry
300-350ml chicken or vegitable stock
zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspns brown sugar
beurre maine
salt & pepper
1 tblspn fresh tarragon (or 1 teaspn dry)

Method
Brown birds with butter in pan then lay them breast down in a casserole pot. Saute onions until almost transparent then add mushrooms. Cook for a few seconds then sprinkle in flour. Cook for a further few seconds, pour in sherry and stock, stirring all the time. Add half of lemon juice and half of the zest, season with salt & pepper. Place in oven at moderate temperature for 1 ½ hours. Cook for 2 hours or longer if using old pigeons. Check if the gravy produced is thick. If not add some of the buerre maine, tarragon and extra lemon juice to taste. Place back in oven for a further 10 minutes.

Pheasant with Orange Juice & Gin

Forget all you know about roasting with this recipe. It calls for some drastic techniques. The ingredients are simply as many pheasants as you want to cook, a quanitiy of marinade made up of one third gin and two thirds good fresh orange juice. Add four crushed juniper berries per bird if you wish.

Cut the birds up along the backbone with poultry shears then flatten it out. Remove the wing tips and the flesh from the second wing joint, exposing the bone. This helps conduct heat into the carcass. Put birds in marinade for around 12 hours and if your really keen, inject some of the marinade into the thicker portions of flesh with a large hypodermic syringe.

This is important. Turn the oven up to its highest setting. When it has been on for some time and is just about smoking, place the flattened birds onto a tray breast down and brush on a little olive oil and put into oven for thirty minutes. Remove from oven and cover with foil (shiny side down) and rest for fifteen minutes before serving.

Remove the drumsticks and save to be eaten cold another time as they are very sinuous. The breasts can be carved or served whole.

Roast Quail with Prosciutto

Wrap whole quail with a slice of prosciutto and a couple of sprigs of sage or rosemary on the cavity.
Drizzle with a little olive oil and some freshly ground black pepper.

Roast in a hot oven for 15 -20 minutes.

Italian Rabbit

Ingredients
1 Rabbit cut into pieces
Red wine
1 tsp salt
Pepper
1 tblspn butter
2 med onion sliced
1 dsp chopped parsley
2 tblspn flour
1 ½ cups of water
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspn oregano
¼ teaspn thyme

Method
Soak rabbit overnight in sufficient wine to cover. Melt butter in saucepan, add onions and fry gently till tender. Blend in flour and add 1 cup of wine in which rabbit was marinated. Add water, salt, pepper, parsley, oregano and thyme. Bring to boil, add meat, cover and gently simmer for approximately 1 ½ hours.

Rabbit or Wild Duck in Maple Syrup

Ingredients
1 Rabbit or Wild Duck (tease the duck)
2 tblspn butter or goose fat
1 tblspn vegetable oil
6 spring onions (chopped)
4 rashes bacon sliced (removed rind)
1 tblspn plain flour
½ teaspn cayene pepper (powder)
2 tblspn lemon juice
2 garlic cloves (peeled and crushed)
3 tblspn water
3 tblspn cream
5 tblspn maple syrup
Salt & freshly ground pepper

Method
Cut meat into pieces, melt the butter or goose fat with the vegetable oil in a fry pan or wok. Toss the spring onions with the bacon in the hot fat until lightly browned. Push the mixture to one side of the pan and lightly brown the meat. Distribute the onion and bacon around the meat and sprinkle with flour. Turn meat in pan juices until all flour has been absorbed, season with salt, freshly ground pepper and cayene. Transfer the meat to an ovenproof casserole dish, add garlic, lemon juice and water, stir lightly. Trickle maple syrup over the meat and cook on low head for about 1- ¼ hours or until meat is tender. Transfer the meat to a heated serving dish and keep hot. Pour the cream into casserole dish and heat throughout without boiling. Adjust the seasoning and spoon over meat and serve on heated plates.