Game Hen Recipes

on a friends blog "Marks Black Pot" There was a request for Game Hen recipe's so Guys here they are! Also check out the blog on "Cast Iron Cooks of the West"
Dave

Quail and Morel Mushrooms

David Herzog



1 c. fresh Morel mushrooms or ½ c. dried

2 quail, halved between the breast and back

½ c. all-purpose flour

4 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 medium onion

½ tsp. garlic salt

½ tsp. liquid Maggi seasoning

1 dash hot pepper sauce

½ tsp. dried thyme

¼ c. tomato puree

1 c. chicken stock

Black pepper to taste

Juice from ½ lemon

Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish



For fresh Morels, soak in salted water for 30 minutes to
remove any debris. Rinse with cold water, pat dry, and cut in half
lengthwise.

For dried Morels, pour 1 c. boiling water over mushrooms
in a bowl and let soak for 30 minutes. Remove, rinse in cold water,
pat dry, and cut in half lengthwise.

Dredge the quail halves in flour and set aside. Heat butter
in a 12” Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until
the onion is translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the quail and sauté
until lightly browned on both sides. About 4 to 5 minutes on each
side.

Stir in mushrooms, garlic salt, Maggi, pepper sauce, thyme,
tomato puree, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and
simmer 15 minutes. Remove lid and simmer until sauce has thick-
ened, about 10 minutes more. Season with pepper to taste, stir in
lemon juice, garnish with parsley and serve.

Serves 4

Creamed Snipe

10 snipe (Cornish game hens)
1/2 Cup sherry
1 medium onion, grated
2 tablespoons brandy
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
parsley
1/2 teaspoon thyme
lemon slices
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup butter

Dry snipe inside and out with paper towels. Combine salt, black pepper and thyme. Rub seasoning inside and out of snipe. Saute snipe in butter until brown and remove to covered Dutch oven. Add onions and chicken stock to butter in frying pan. Cut fire, add sherry over snipe. Cover casserole, bake in 350-degree oven until done. Remove snipe, finish sauce with cream, heat until thickened a little (do not boil), add brandy and pour sauce over birds. Serve hot on platter. Garnish with parsley and slices of lemon.

Serves 10

This would be a fun and great recipe to prepare for those friends who have never been on a Snipe Hunt. When they get back show them your catch in the Dutch oven! And have a belly ache of laughs!

Chef Al's Cranberry Chicken or Cornish Game Hens

3-4 chicken breasts or 3 game hens 8 oz. bottle Russian dressing

1 can whole cranberry sauce 1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

1 small box Stove Top dressing

Wash and dry chicken or game hens and season the outside. Mix the stuffing mix and stuff the game hens, wrap the balance of the stuffing mix in foil and set aside. Place chicken or game hens in a greased, warm 12” Dutch oven. Mix the onion soup mix, cranberry sauce, and Russian dressing together and pour over the chicken/game hens. Place the foil wrapped stuffing mix in the Dutch oven and bake at 350° for 1 hour 15 minutes, until legs fall off.

Dutch oven ornament

Here's a picture and directions for a Dutch oven ornament by Fran from the dutchovencooking yahoo group.

Dutch oven Pheasant

My wife pulled out of the freezer 2 nights ago, a Pheasant a friend gave us from a recent hunt, with a warning of bird shot possibly in some of the meat. She wanted me to cook the Pheasant tonight for dinner and later told me she was inviting friends over. "Now, that's a problem honey, a Pheasant has enough meat for 3 or 4 people and now I must make it feed 9?" She told me she trusted me and knew I could figure it out. I did and here's what I did. BOY IT WAS GOOD!!!

2 onions, peeled and quartered
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 apples, cored and cut into eights
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/8 cup dried blueberries
1 banana, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
6 slices bacon
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 pomegranate, seeds removed

In a 12" Dutch oven, place the onions and carrots in the bottom. Stuff the cavity of the bird with one apple and all the berries. Chunk the remaining apple and place it with the onions and carrots. Place the stuffed bird in the center of the Dutch oven on top the vegetables. Put some of the pomegranate seeds in the cavity of the bird and rub 1/4 of pomegranate all over the skin of the bird. Place 1/2 banana on each side of the breast over the wings and legs to hold the banana on the bird. Cover with 4 pieces of bacon side by side, lengthwise, covering the top of the bird. Cross the remaining 2 slices of bacon across the thighs. Sprinkle Italian seasoning all over bacon and vegis. Pour in chicken broth against a side of the oven, away from the bird. Cover and bake 90 minutes at 350 degrees F.

I also made rice pilaf, and dinner rolls to complete a dinner since the vegis cooked with the bird. Dessert was a fruit tart. Delish!

Dutch oven Black Pot Demo's at SW in Rocklin, Ca

Yesterday started at a dark and early 5:30 am to hook up my trailer packed full of heavy iron pots, cooking gear and instant fire in the form of propane. To start the day off wrong I forgot one of my new and full 5 gallon bottles of propane to light charcoal and fire up the portable camp fire to keep warm. forecast temperatures for the Sacramento were 55 degrees and when I arrived at 8:30 to set up and get ready to start at 10:00 it was still around a chilly 38 degrees. People in the Sacramento area love their black pots and love to learn more! There was a group of 20+ people right at 10 and they watched, and asked questions until 2:30pm. I also built a new "gadget" to help when teaching classes so that the whole group could see inside the Dutch oven and what I was doing. If I were to buy a demonstration table with overhead mirror or even just the mirror, it would cost over $2,000. I built one for a whole $40.00 and the next 2 are going to cost even less since I had 3 pieces of mirror cut all at once at $10.00 a cut! In the picture you can see the overhead mirror and the area I was teaching in. I didn't have a person available to take pictures with my expensive camera so I just snapped a few for reference and posting here and there online. I can not sell my cookbooks when I do demo's at SW because it is not an item which they carry so I contacted the person in charge and they may start carrying my books but, it must be approved first. Dishes we cooked as a class were sourdough beer bread, chicken tortilla casserole, and Sin on a Stick(better known as deep fried snickers bars). The next class will be at the ISE Show in Sacramento on Jan 17 to 10, 2008. The next oneat SW will be in February and I will be joining the Lonestar Dutch oven Society for their DOG on December 9 in Oak Meadow Park in Los Gatos, Ca

Dutch oven Christmas Tree!

Well, for those of you who frequent my blogs here and the IDOS Forums here are pictures of my proud made Dutch oven black pot Christmas Tree!