Bacon and Birds—with a Side of Pop
 | Author:
Eileen Clarke, Rifles and Recipes
Author: Rifles and Recipes |
Bacon and Birds—with a Side of Pop
Eileen Clarke
Rifles and Recipes
The best tasting sharptails I ever ate came from a draw in Eastern Montana that was loaded with buffalo berry bushes full of plump, ripe berries. The birds were gorging themselves, their beaks and faces stained purple. Judging from the signs, they’d been at it more than 24 hours. And the berries had had their effect. The meat was sweet and tender. More to the point though, their stomachs were drum-tight and the birds slow to leave the abundance of food. Terrible wing shot that I am, even I got a limit. (That's my DH in the photo. My hubby John is a really good wing shot.)
If your birds have been similarly gorging themselves, don’t bother marinating more than overnight. If not, and you find Sharptails a bit gamy, you’ll need to start this marinade a few days ahead of time. I’ve soaked breasts for as long as 4 days in the ginger ale, but 3 is enough to really tenderize and mellow out these wild plains birds.
FYI: Pop is a great marinater. I have found Coke to be ineffectual, but love Dr Pepper for marinating red meat. My friends often use orange soda for birds and wild pig, but I prefer Ginger Ale because the flavor it adds doesn’t conflict with any of the other ingredients, i.e. Orange Soda really doesn’t help an Italian or Teutonic-leaning marinade. Just be sure to use the regular sugar version, not the sugar-free. (It’s not really about the sugar, but the other ingredients the sugar versions have.)
Pop-Kabobs
serves 8
Ingredients
boned breasts of 4 sharptail grouse or prairie chickens
12 ounce can ginger ale
8 strips bacon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried leaf basil
1 sweet green Bell pepper
1 medium yellow onion
Preparation
1. Rinse and dry the boned breasts with paper towels. and cut them into bite-sized chunks. Pour the ginger ale into a quart-sized resealable plastic bag with the salt, pepper and basil.. Dump the breast meat in and massage the bag a bit to get everything well mixed up.
2. Place the bag in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, turning it morning and evening to keep all the pieces of meat well mixed in ginger ale.
Cooking
1. Preheat your barbecue to medium high, about 600°F at cooking level. Drain the ginger ale off the meat and dry the chunks with paper towels. Cut the pepper and onion into about equal-sized chunks.
2. Arrange the bacon on 8 spits with the chunks of sharptail, peppers and onions. Start by spearing one end of the strip of bacon, then alternate the breast meat with the vegetables. End by wrapping the bacon around the kabob and spear it at the other end to secure it.
3. Place each kabob on the grill, cooking about 8-10 minutes total, turning 3-4 times as they cook. Spritz fat fires with a water pistol, as necessary, so the fat flare-ups don’t burn your dinner.
4. The sharptail is done when it reaches 165°F, or the juices run clear when you pierce the meat. Gently push the grilled meat and vegetables off each skewer onto a plate and serve with corn on the cob.
Pop-Kabobs is from Eileen’s all-bird cookbook, Upland Game Bird Cookery, published by Ducks Unlimited, now available at https://www.riflesandrecipes.com/406-521-0273. Enter the coupon code "43News" and get $5 off any of Eileen’s game cookbooks.
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PhotoCredit: Eileen Clarke
Image 1 Caption: John Barsness holding a sharp tail.
Photo Credit: Eileen Clarke
