A small partridge provides a portion of healthy meat for one person. This type of wild bird is great roast, but the meat gets dry quickly if you're not careful. Placing partridge meat in a brine and wrapping it with bacon while cooking are two useful techniques to minimize the risk of drying it out.
Ingrediants
For two people
For the brine
- 50 g of coarse salt
- 1 liter of hot water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
For the Partridge
- 2 partridges, gutted and cleaned
- 4 slices of bacon
- 30 g of softened butter
- 250 ml of chicken broth
For the Gravy Sauce
- 10 g of corn starch
- 15 ml of cold water
- 15 ml of Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons of currant jam
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of ground black pepper
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Brine the Meat
Step 1. Mix the brine ingredients
In a large bowl, combine the salt with the bay leaf, thyme and rosemary. Add hot water to the dry ingredients.
- Make sure the container is large enough to hold both partridges.
- The water must not be boiling but still the hottest that your tap can deliver.
Step 2. Wait for the brine to cool
Place it in a corner of the kitchen for half an hour until it reaches room temperature.
- Don't put it in the fridge for now.
- You can cover, without sealing, the container with kitchen paper or cling film to prevent dust or other contaminants from getting inside.
Step 3. Soak the meat
Put both partridges in the brine. Make sure they are completely submerged in the liquid.
When the two birds are in the container, close it more securely with a lid or cling film
Step 4. Put everything in the refrigerator for 8 hours
Wait at least 3 hours but 8 would be more appropriate.
- During this time, the brine breaks down the muscle fibers of the meat, transforming them from solid to liquid. This way the partridges acquire more moisture.
- Do not let the meat soak for more than 8 hours because the brine could ruin it if it breaks down too many muscle fibers.
Part 2 of 4: Roasting the Partridges
Step 1. Dry the partridges
Remove them from the brine and dab them with kitchen paper.
You should leave the meat at room temperature for 20 minutes after removing it from the liquid. In this way the excess moisture dries up and the meat reaches a higher temperature (which reduces cooking times and therefore the risk of drying the partridges)
Step 2. Preheat the oven to 200 ° C
Prepare a small baking dish or shallow baking dish by lining it with non-stick aluminum foil.
Aluminum is not strictly necessary, but it makes subsequent cleaning operations faster
Step 3. Place the partridges in the baking dish
Arrange them in the same pan with the chest upwards.
In theory, the two partridges should form a single tight layer so that they remain firmly in place
Step 4. Add the butter and broth
Rub the soft butter over each partridge and finally pour the chicken broth.
- When you spread the butter, be sure to cover all the outer skin. If you have any butter left over, put some under your skin.
- At this point do not add salt because between that contained in the brine, that of the broth and that of the bacon (see next step), the partridges are more than flavored.
Step 5. Wrap the bacon around the partridges
Place two slices on top of each animal.
- If you'd rather wrap the meat completely in the bacon instead of just placing the bacon on it, you need to use toothpicks to hold it in place.
- If you prefer, you can use sliced salted lard.
- Bacon gives partridges a lot of flavor but is also a good way to keep their meat moist while cooking.
Step 6. Cover the meat with aluminum foil, do not seal the dish though
The foil must be wrapped quite softly, if you tighten too much you could displace the layer of bacon that is on the partridges
Step 7. Cook for 25 minutes
Place the dish in the oven and wait about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare another small pan with non-stick aluminum
Step 8. Remove the aluminum foil and continue cooking
Remove the pan from the oven, lift the foil and remove the bacon from the partridges, you can cook the bacon and meat separately for another 10 minutes.
- Place the bacon on the second pan before returning it to the oven.
- The partridges should remain in their original dish but must cook without a lid at this point.
- Wet the meat in its own juices before returning it to the oven. Repeat this after about 5 minutes or halfway through the final cooking process.
Step 9. Let the partridges rest
Take them out of the oven along with the bacon and let them sit while you make the sauce.
- The bacon should be crunchy.
- Partridges should be well browned with an internal temperature of 82.2 ° C.
- If you don't have a meat thermometer, you can check the doneness by pricking the meat with a fork by eye. This should penetrate without difficulty. Another demonstration of complete cooking is the movement of the thighs: if you can move them without resistance, the meat is cooked.
- Place the partridges and bacon on hot serving plates and cover them with aluminum foil to keep them from cooling. Regardless of how long it will take to prepare the gravy, the meat must rest at least 5-10 minutes.
Part 3 of 4: Making Gravy Sauce
Step 1. Transfer the cooking juices to a saucepan
Transfer them from the pan and pan. Put the saucepan over medium-high heat.
Since there are a lot of fats in these liquids, it may be necessary to filter them with a strainer. The fine wire mesh is able to hold most of the solid pieces of grease
Step 2. Mix the cornstarch with water in a separate bowl
Use a fork to mix the two ingredients into a batter.
The two ingredients must be well blended before continuing. No starch residue should stick to the bottom of the bowl
Step 3. Add the cornstarch mixture to the juices
Pour the batter into the saucepan and mix to combine everything.
Cook the mixture over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Keep stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened
Step 4. Flavor the sauce with the mustard, jam, salt and pepper
Add these remaining ingredients to the sauce, mix and heat everything.
If you wish, you can avoid putting mustard and currant jam and limit yourself to salt and pepper. This way you will get a classic gravy for poultry
Part 4 of 4: Serve the Partridges
Step 1. Bring the partridges with the bacon to the table
Place each one on its own serving dish by arranging the bacon on top and then season with a dollop of gravy sauce.
- If you prefer, serve the bacon on the side.
- If you want each diner to serve themselves the amount of sauce they prefer, pour it into a gravy boat and place it next to the plates.
Step 2. Let everyone cut their own partridge
Since it is such a small animal, usually, each diner cuts their portion while consuming it.
- If presentation is not an issue, you can also cut the two partridges before placing them on the plates.
- There is no established technique for slicing partridges, usually starting by detaching the thighs and wings from the body. Remove the meat from these parts and then from the bird's chest and back.
