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Fishing and hunting are among the most popular and beloved activities. The health benefits of these hobbies have been known for centuries, and the trophies can also be used to prepare a variety of delicious and healthy delicacies.
If you take the Putorana Plateau trophy fishing tours to hunt geese in the spring or fish for noble predators from the salmon family (taimen, brown trout, whitefish, and lenok ), you'll experience a wealth of pleasure. You'll also have the opportunity to learn various life hacks and recipes for delicious dishes.
Unfortunately, you won't be able to shoot hazel grouse, as hunting for these members of the chicken family is only available from fall to winter. However, these tiny birds can be used to make a variety of delicious dishes. One of them is hazel grouse in sour cream with mushrooms and nuts.
What do you need to prepare this dish?
To cook wild game yourself, you'll need a minimal set of ingredients. The key is to have enough game to prepare this delicious delicacy right in the wild.
Ingredients:
- Hazel grouse – 3, 4 pcs.
- Porcini mushrooms or any other.
- Pine nuts.
- High-fat sour cream – 100 ml.
- Vegetable oil (olive, sunflower) – 2 tbsp.
- Salt, pepper, herbs to taste.
- Garlic or garlic powder.
Step-by-step cooking instructions:
1. Game trophies must be skinned and gutted. Remove the skin along with the feathers, leaving only the meat.
2. Soak the poultry in cold water for about half an hour. They will turn an attractive pink color.
3. Remove the hazel grouse and separate the backs from the breasts. Then cut them in half and season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour vegetable oil into the frying pan and bring it to a boil.
5. Place the meat and fry until the game becomes golden brown.
Preparing the sour cream sauce:
- Finely chop the mushrooms and crush the nuts.
- Pour the sour cream into a saucepan and mix with the prepared mushrooms, nuts, and herbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer the hazel grouse from the frying pan to a saucepan and place over low heat. Outdoors, you can use a pot, but at home, an oven or roasting pan will work just fine.
In 30-60 minutes, the hazel grouse in sour cream with mushrooms and nuts are fully cooked. Cooking time depends on how finely chopped the mushrooms are. Serve as a separate dish or with any side dish, be it potatoes, grains, or vermicelli.
Conclusion
Cooking hazel grouse in sour cream is one of the easiest ways to do so, which helps us understand why hunters love this bird so much. The game meat is very juicy and delicious. Even its small size never stops hunters.
From autumn until late winter, hazel grouse hunting becomes a popular activity. While they're not the largest game birds in the forest, or even the geese of the Putorana Plateau's spring trophy hunts, the bird is nonetheless sought after and popular.
Chicken relatives can be hunted in various regions of Russia. They inhabit areas from west to east, where spruce forests are present. The key is to have the necessary hunting permits, and then the hunter's table will be set with delicious delicacies.
