Capercaillie is a trophy of honor of a hunter. Now this bird is rare. Her capture is strictly licensed. Capercaillie roosters (weighing up to 6 kg) are especially appreciated. They are easy to recognize by the colorful plumage and the characteristic "beard" under the beak. But they also eat chickens (they weigh about 3 kg). Sometimes in the store you can get the frozen carcass of a capercaillie. But it also happens that as a result of a successful hunt or as a present you get this rare bird unbroken. What to do with this closest relative of chicken, and what dish of capercaillie to cook?
The meat of this bird is juicy, dark. It absolutely does not look like fresh chicken and has an unusual aroma of needles. In addition, it is more stringent. It is customary for hunters not to “clog” a coniferous aroma, but to enjoy it. In the middle of the forest they gut the carcass, cover it with clay and bake it in an earthen pit in coals. But at home, a capercaillie dish requires a more thorough approach. To soften the meat, it is pre-marinated. This procedure is required for frozen carcasses, because it enhances the bitter note of needles.
If the capercaillie came to you like a handsome man - in feathers and not gutted, then in this form it should be hung by the head or tail in a cool place. When in a day or two the carcass will fall to the floor under its own weight, it is believed that it is ready for further processing. There are numerous recipes for capercaillie dishes . It is boiled, fried, stewed. The easiest way is to bake whole in the oven. The capercaillie cooked on the grill is no less tasty.
Whatever we do with the bird, it must first be plucked and gutted. The neck, paws and wings will fit into the broth. We chop the rest of the carcass into large pieces and pickle (for example, in wine). A capercaillie dish will turn out more tender if we stuff the meat with pork lard blocks . Now consider how to stew a bird. Dip the lumped pieces into sunflower oil and fry over the coals until a crust appears. Then we put a pot of vegetable oil over the fire, we pass in it chopped 2-3 onions. We put the pieces of meat and pour a liter of pre-cooked broth. Stew for at least an hour, or even longer. When the meat is almost ready, put two or three glasses of cranberries or lingonberries in a capercaillie dish. Add the flour in an amount sufficient to thicken the broth like a sauce.
Another way to cook a forest dweller is baking. Despite the variety of recipes, all dishes from the capercaillie in the oven are prepared somewhat similarly. Whole carcass is stuffed with fat and stuffed with fillings. Sometimes meat is cut into pieces and hidden in puff pastry. Fillings can be different. Here are some of them. Fry the skin removed from the bird, as well as the liver and heart in fat. Pass the onions in butter until golden. Pour 200 grams of rice, fry a little, until it becomes a glass shade, then pour water. Salt, season with spices. Mix the finished rice with pre-soaked raisins and chopped herbs. Another filling is liver. Boil 100 g of mushrooms, decant, cool. We pass a little calf liver through a meat grinder. Add the bun soaked in milk, minced butter, two eggs, mushrooms. Season to taste with salt and spices.