The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-11-29
ABOUT WILD GAME.
How TO Cook QuaiIs, Prairie Chickens,
Grouse and Partridges.

There is much confusion in the use of
the word partridge in this country
says the Philadelphia Record. AS mat
ter fact, the only bird that has a right
to the name is the English partridge,
which does not exist in this country. Our
ruffed grouse which is called in the
South pheasant, and in the North part
ridge, is the bird sold throughout New
England. The northern quail is the
southern partridge. The praire chicken,
or pinnated grouse. is a bird very nearly
the size of the ruffed grouse.
II is said that the praire chickens were
common enough all over New England
when the country was first settled, and
few of them are still found in Mar
tha's vineyard, though the majority are
brought from the western pairies-hence
their name. The ruffed grouse is a
much slyer bird than the pairie chicken,
and is not so easily trapped; 50 that it
has never been cleared out of the coun-
try, and is found today in the woods of
Connecticut and the East, as it was in
the days of the colonies. The difference
in the flesh of these birds is very mark
ed. The pairie chicken has a dark flesh,
rich and gamey, while the flesh of the
partridge, or ruffed grouse, is more deli
cate and white in color, like the meat
of a chicken. Like all white meat, the
partridge requires to be thoroughly
cooked; while the dark meat of the
pinnated grouse is served like all game,
rare. 1t requires just about forty min
utes with a quick fire to roast a ruffed
grouse or American partridge so that it
is fit to eat; while the pinnated grouse
or pairie chicken requires but twenty
five or thirty minutes. Both birds are
about the same size To prepare one
for the table, pick it carfully.
Do not scald it, but pick it dry. SINCE
it. Remove the wings, which are apt
to be tough. Look over it carefully for
any shot or pieces of feather which may
have been carried into the flesh when
the bird was shot Birds that are killed
by inexpert huntsmen are apt to be
torn with shot, making it very trouble
some to dress them. The neck of the
partridge as well as that of the prairie
chicken is cut off close to the body /;
the skin Of the neck is left on to assist
in trussing the fowl. The toes are often
trimmed and the legs left on and
scraped The birds may now be drawn.
Use your fingers to loosen the internal
parts around the threat and neck and
then draw the bird entire through an
opening made from the leg to the vent,
in exactly the way in which you draw a
chicken. When this is done, wipe the
bird thoroughly with a cloth and cold
water, inside and out. and lard ii with
a row of lardoons down each side Of the
breast and on the thighs. Rub the bird
freely with butter and dredge it very
lightly with flour. Lay it on its back
in a dripping-pan without a rack and
without water in the bottom Of the pan.
A pair of these birds is considered suf-
ficient for a family of six.
Do not forget the difference in the
time of cooking required by these birds.
A prairie chicken would be dry and
flavorless if cooked the length OF time
required for a partridge. Either bird is
properly served with bread sauce. garn-
ished with a little watercress or parsley.
Neither of these birds. indeed no game
bird, is served with a stufffng, but some
cooks put half an onion inside Of grouse
while it is roasting, but remove il when
it is served. When the word grouse
alone is used in the markets, 1t always
means a prairie chicken, but the ruffed
grouse is called partridge House
keepers should learn by experience to
distinguish between these birds and to
cook them as they should be cooked.
After a heavy, dense fall of snow.
which covers up the underbrush, it is
not always safe to buy partridge, as at
this time the bird is likely to feed from
necessity on the leaves of the mountain
laurel and other evergreens, which are
filled with prussic acid, like the peach
leaf and the almond leaf. This acid
apparently, is not entirely expelled by
the cooking in the case of the partridge
as several serious poisoning cases are
on record from this cause.