No. 2071

Grouse, Prairie Hens or Ptarmigan, Broiled

Tetras, Poules de Prairie ou de Neige Grilles

There are two ways of preparing these birds for broiling; the first, or the one most generally employed is to cut off the feet at the first joint, also the neck, leaving the throat skin on as long as possible; split the grouse lengthwise through the back to open it entirely; remove the breastbones, flatten lightly and season with salt; dip them in oil and broil over a moderate fire, then dress on toast with clear gravy (No. 404).

Another Way is after the grouse is picked, drawn and singed, truss with the legs thrust inside, and cut them lengthwise in two, beat lightly, pare neatly, season and dip in melted butter, then in bread-crumbs and broil in a double broiler on a moderate fire, turning them when well done on one side; dressed grouse can be cooked in either of these ways, being careful not to have the broiler too tight, and when dressed they may be covered with maitre d'hotel butter (No. 581) or else have a cold tartar sauce (No. 631) served separately.

← No. 2070 Salmis of Teal Ducks a la Harrison Partridge, Pheasant & Grouse No. 2072 Grouse or Prairie Hens Roasted with Gravy, F →

For the Modern Kitchen Do not make this as written.

Ranhofer gives two methods for the same bird: split and oiled, or split and crumbed. Both live or die on the fire, since grouse breast is very lean and turns to sawdust a few degrees past done.

The hinge: pull the breast earlyBroil to about 155-160F in the thickest part of the breast and let it rest; the legs can go further. Grouse and ptarmigan have almost no intramuscular fat, and the difference between juicy and dry is a matter of two or three minutes.
"A moderate fire"Over charcoal that means coals burned down to an even grey ash, the grate set high enough that you can hold a hand at cooking level for four or five seconds. Under a modern broiler, use the second rack down rather than the top slot, or the crumbs in the second method scorch before the thighs cook.
"Dressed grouse"In this book dressed means picked, drawn and singed — cleaned and ready — not seasoned or garnished. Ranhofer is saying that a bird already prepared by the poulterer can be handled either way.
"Double broiler"A hinged wire grill basket that clamps the bird flat between two grids so it can be flipped in one motion. His warning not to clamp it too tight is real: crushed birds cook unevenly and the crumb coating welds to the wire. A grill press over a flat grate does the same job.
Splitting the birdThe first method is spatchcocking through the back with the breastbone lifted out — the fastest, most even way to broil any small bird. The second halves it lengthwise into two pieces. Either way, flattening matters more than which cut you choose.
Cross-referencesNo. 404 is a clear meat gravy, No. 581 maitre d'hotel butter (butter worked with parsley, lemon and seasoning), No. 631 a cold tartare. Any good jus, compound butter or mayonnaise-based sauce fills the role; the point is fat and acid against dry meat.
The birds themselvesPtarmigan is a legal game bird in Alaska and much of Canada, but wild-shot birds generally cannot be sold in the United States, so ptarmigan and ruffed grouse usually reach the kitchen through a hunter rather than a dealer. Prairie hen means the greater prairie chicken, now protected across most of its former range with only limited seasons in a few states, and not a bird you can buy -- farmed guinea fowl, squab or a good free-range poussin behaves similarly under the broiler.
YieldOne grouse or ptarmigan per person; a large prairie-sized bird splits between two. Toast is not optional in the first method — it catches the juices, which are the best part.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer ran the kitchen at Delmonico's in New York, and The Epicurean (1894) records what crossed those tables. That a single heading can offer grouse, prairie hen and ptarmigan interchangeably says a good deal about American markets in the last quarter of the nineteenth century: market-shot prairie chickens were shipped east from the prairie states in barrels, iced or frozen, in volume enough that they were reckoned cheap game, and ptarmigan reportedly came south from the far north in the same trade. The trade collapsed with the birds. The Lacey Act of 1900 curtailed interstate traffic in illegally taken game, state after state closed the prairie chicken season, and the greater prairie chicken is now a conservation concern across most of its range — a menu that once treated it as a commodity is a fair measure of how quickly a wild population can be eaten through. The cookery itself is older than the restaurant: splitting a small bird flat, seasoning it and setting it over coals is among the oldest ways of dealing with game, and the crumbed variation is close to the French a la diable treatment, minus the mustard that usually defines it.