SECTION THREE
SMOKED GROUSE BREAST
Recipe & Photos
by Krissie Mason
“...the to-die-for outer bark and the succulent, moist,
smoky depth that permeates the meat...has me googly
eyed for my Bradley.”
The Lake of the Woods area of Northern Minnesota
holds both promise and providence for any sporting
chef’s table. From the thousands of acres of grouse
filled public forests to the abundant comestibles of
field, lake, and stream one can welcome guests to a wild
table set with plates sure to intice all sorts of adventur-
ers.
Though the mention of Lake of the Woods, (LOTW),
may not immediately cause the mind to leap to
upland bird hunting, it could. Last year a brace of ruff-
ies found their way to my wild pantry via friends who
hunted the area. My dilema was how to cook, and what
bottle of wine to pair? (So stressful, right?)
I had read about an small-batch venison and upland
bird charcuterie in rural Scotland that smoked birds.
It sounded like a great way to prepare my LOTW ruff-
ies.
Unlike many wild game cooks, I am late to
smoking meats. Mostly because I thought
only a log burning, welded steel behemoth
from Texas was capable of producing the
slobbery delicious results that would satisfy
a discerning smoked meat eater.
I also assumed it was going to be difficult. As many of
you will attest, I was wrong on both points. Regardless,
it was time for me to venture into smoked charcuterie.
Though I lacked experience, it did nothing to curb my
Volume 01 No. 03 | 2017