We speak of game as furred or feathered. The ways of cooking are roasting, braising, making into a stew which in the case of furred game is usually called a civet and for feathered game a salmis. There are also pâtés and terrines. A pâté is a highly seasoned mixture of the game cooked in a pastry crust, while the terrine is a similar mixture but cooked in an earthenware mold. Both are served cold and can be kept in the refrigerator for a week or ten days, an advantage when you have more game than you can eat freshly cooked.
The tenderness of the bird or animal, which in turn depends upon its age, determines the way to cook it. All wild life is active, and the older it gets the tougher its muscle tissue becomes. Only young and tender game is good for roasting. For example, partridges are young and tender and suitable for roasting only through September and early October. In France we call them by a different name, perdreaux. Then later in the season when they are no longer tender, they are called perdrix. We use these older birds for salmis or terrines or in a chartreuse made with sauerkraut. And incidentally, the best way to tell whether a game bird is old or young is to look at its feet. If the spur on the inside of the foot is very pointed and sharp, the bird is an old one and apt to be tough. The end of the spur in a young bird is rounded and dull.
Game dishes follow the game season in the same order every year. First come the tender young birds of five or six months that can be roasted. Then as they grow older in the advancing season and become less tender, they are made into the other dishes already mentioned. When the bird season is about over, every one is out after the furred game, mostly hare, rabbit, and deer. Hare and rabbit are quite similar, hare being the wilder of the two, gamier and usually a little larger. Some people prefer the rabbit, some the hare, but both are cooked in the same ways. At about seven or eight months when they have reached their full weight, yet are still young and tender, the creatures are at their best. Their ears give away their age, tearing easily in the young tender animal and becoming thick and tough in the older one. As for deer the clue to its age is its antlers, as I am sure every hunter knows.
Roast Young Pheasant, Partridge, Guinea Hen, or Quail
After cleaning the bird, truss it to hold the legs (and wings of a pheasant) close to the body. Cover the bird with thin slices of fat salt pork, tying them on securely. In the case of quail and partridge, grape leaves are often wrapped around under the fat and next to the skin of the bird. Very particular cooks lard the breasts (especially those of pheasant) with strips of fat pork. Roast the bird in a hot oven (450° F.), placing it on its side in the pan, turning it on the other side when golden-brown, and finishing by cooking on its back. Baste frequently during the cooking. As soon as the salt pork is brown and crisp, remove and set it aside to garnish the bird. The time required for roasting depends upon the type of bird and its size. For pheasant, partridge, and guinea hen, allow about 15 minutes on each side and 10 to 15 minutes on its back; for quail, use an oven that is a little hotter—about 475° F.—and allow about 5 to 7 minutes on each side and 5 minutes on its back. The test to find out if the bird is done is to lift it up and let the juice run out of it into the roasting pan. If the juice is clear and has no pink tinge, the bird is done.
To make the sauce, skim off the fat from the liquid in the pan and add butter and water, allowing about 1 teaspoon butter and 2 tablespoons water for each bird in the pan. Reduce it all to the desired concentration, stirring in all the brown crustiness around the edges of the pan. A small partridge or quail serves one, a pheasant or guinea hen usually serves two.
The woodcock is the smallest bird commonly eaten in this country. It should be roasted à point, that is, not well done yet not too rare, but just to the point when the flesh is losing its pink color.
Roast Woodcock
Prepare and roast woodcock like grouse, cooking it for about 8 to 10 minutes. Serve it on toast with its own gravy made by reducing the juice in the pan with a little butter and water, as for other game birds (see just above).
Duck hunting has continued through the years to be one of the very popular sports and the ducks themselves to be one of the most popular of game birds—as popular with those who eat but don't shoot them as with those who do the hunting. In recent years it seems to me that more mallards are brought in than any other variety. Previously we saw quantities of canvasbacks, redheads, and other wild ducks, and in the fall these were all purchasable in the New York markets. A wild duck must always be cooked rare, not only because a well-cooked one loses the flavor desired by lovers of game but also because it becomes tough when cooked until it is well done. Only the breast is eaten. The legs and carcass are pressed in a special device called a duck press which extracts the blood for making the sauce au sang, traditional accompaniment to wild duck.
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