Sharp-tailed grouse are known for their dark, rich meat. The flavor is close to duck, and like duck, the meat can taste strong and livery to some. If you’ve had sharptail before and didn’t like it, ask yourself if you took care of them in the field.
Nebraska hunters, for example, often chase sharpies in early September and forget that the birds stuffed in their vests are stewing away in the heat of lingering summer. Sharpies are dark-meat birds with a flavor profile that I could best describe as minerally and herbaceous, and poor care in the field will only make those flavors stronger. For the best-tasting sharp-tailed grouse, get the birds on ice as soon as possible after they hit the ground, and allow air flow between each bird so that their own body heat can release quickly. I always bring a cooler of ice with me when I’m hunting upland birds or small game.
Secondly, don’t overcook them. While I won’t eat sharpies rare, they shouldn’t be cooked through either, which will bring out livery flavors. There’s a fine line with these birds—rosy pink is the sweet spot. Shoot for an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit, which is where the meat will show you its best flavor while retaining juiciness.
The third trick is to pair sharp-tailed grouse with a berry-forward sauce, which will help balance out the meat’s minerality. In general, I love the flavor of dark fruit with most wild game, especially red meat. It’s a delicious, natural combination. One of the best ways to incorporate fruit into your cooking is by making a pan sauce.
A pan sauce is meat’s best friend. It’s a good way to utilize the fond, which is the crusty browned bits left at the bottom of a pan after you’ve browned the meat. The fond is full of flavor, and instead of just rinsing it off in the sink, you could use it to make a sauce to pair with the meat you plan to serve.
There are many variations of pan sauces. The basic elements are thus: the fond and grease leftover from cooking the meat; an aromatic such as onion or shallot; a liquid such as stock, wine, or water to deglaze the pan; and fat, such as butter or cream, to make the sauce rich and glossy. From there, you could add other ingredients to help flavor and thicken the sauce further—mustard is popular. For this sauce, we'll use balsamic vinegar, blackberry preserves, and thyme.
Once you understand the basics of making a pan sauce, the options become limitless.
Plucking and halving your sharp-tailed grouse is best for pan frying. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) Sharp-Tailed Grouse Recipe with Blackberries
Serves: 2 Prep time: 10 Minutes Cook time: 20 Minutes
1 to 2 sharp-tailed grouse, preferably plucked Kosher salt and pepper, to taste Paprika, to taste 1 tbsp. duck fat or oil 3 tbsp. cold salted butter, separated 1 small shallot, minced ¼ cup water 2 tbsp. good balsamic vinegar 3 tbsp. blackberry preserves/jam 1 sprig of fresh thyme Fresh blackberries Directions:
Quarter or halve grouse to your liking. Season with salt and pepper, and then lightly rub paprika on the skin side to help with browning. Set oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat a cast-iron or steel pan (not non-stick) over medium-high heat and add enough duck fat or oil for browning. Sear the skin side of the grouse first until nicely browned. Then, brown the other side. Movegrouse to a rimmed cookie sheet, skin side up, and transfer to the oven to gently finish cooking while you make the sauce. In the same pan where you browned the grouse, add 1 tablespoon of butter and minced shallot and cook over medium-low heat until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Then, deglaze the pan with water, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release the fond. Add balsamic vinegar, blackberry preserves, and the sprig of thyme. Stir to dissolve the preserves and simmer until thickened. When you run a spoon across the sauce, it should be thick enough to leave a path, just for a second. Then, take the sauce off the heat, and whisk in the remaining cold butter to emulsify. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Note that preserves and balsamic vinegars are not all created equal, so adjust the sauce to your liking: If it’s too sweet, add more vinegar; if it’s too tart, add more preserves. Discard thyme. Serve sauce immediately with grouse and fresh blackberries. Grouse should be pink—neither raw nor overcooked—but rosy, about 145 to 150 degrees internal temperature. If the meat is still raw, turn the oven up to 300 degrees and cook for a couple minutes longer. If needed, reheat sauce with a splash of water.
