Would You Eat a Woodie Cooked Like This?
Does this look appetizing to you?
In a column about grouse hunting in Maine that ran in The Boston Globe earlier this month was this description of cooking and eating woodcock:
Woodcock is classically served whole, feathers on the head, body plucked, roasted hot and fast in bacon fat with the insides intact.
The old wives’ tale goes that woodcock empty their bowels before they fly – but really, the bird is cooked guts in because it is such a small bird and because the guts taste so good on bacony, buttery, toasted bread.
Wow – really? In a post we ran about ortolan “hunting” and eating (whole – feet, beak and all) in France, reader Wink Windsor left this comment: “I’m told the French cook woodcock whole also. The whole bird..with all the guts still in the bird.”
The French we believe. But Americans – have we missed out? Do any of you eat woodies this way, and is it good?
We prefer to thin-slice woodcock breast, fry ’em fast, and eat them rare. Or make a pate, sometimes including the heart if we don’t leave it out in the field. But the bowels too?
On the other hand, enough bacon grease and butter, and a rubber boot might taste good….
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I think ya all over complicating this delectable little bird , we have a lot of woodcock locally and eat it often ,I’m not one for the idea of sitting it on crouton and roasting it guts an all for the sheer fact that worm juice soaked bread is not a real turn on ,, i simply take the legs and breast off season well heat olive oil salty butter and garlic and shallot throw the meat in the real hot fat and flash fry nice and caramelised on the skin soft and juicy inside infact the whole family has just eaten it as a starter for xmas dinner on a bed of crushed new potato with wilted spinach green scallion tops with a dash of ceaser dressing mixed through the spud , rocket salad , and a dry cider shallot and garlic reduction drizzled over it all ,, you can fck the turkey main course i could eat that again 🙂 try it dudes
regards Andy