While out hunting this yesterday, I harvested two dusky grouse (blue). I got them cleaned and on ice in about two hours. I plucked them, and marinated them in garlic, onion, teriyaki, and white wine. I backed them with poultry spices, onions, salt and pepper.

It was awful. It had a sour milk flavor. Super yucky. What did I do wrong?

Too many spices and herbs that did not work together. You would have been better served to just salt and pepper the grouse and saute it in olive oil. There is such a thing as too much. Grouse ha a light poultry flavor. Simple is generally better, enjoy it for what it is.

K.
I.
S.
S.

Keep it simple.....you probably know the rest.

As Oldtimr said you may have added too many spices.
I like to cook Grouse and any other wild fowl, with just a couple spices. Usually salt and pepper, or sometimes lemon pepper.

But I do have to ask, where did you harvest these birds? What was in their crop? That CAN have an deleterious affect on their flavor.

I don't know that the change of spices would remove or lighten that horrible smell / taste that the species has. I want to prevent that from being the flavor I had. I have had grouse prepared by others that did not have that horrible smell translate into that flavor in the final product.

But, I would like to try them with less. See how that goes.

What did your friends use for spices?

I don't know CH.

Here's the real question again - how do I prepare the bird without getting that horrid smell to turn into a horrid taste?

Are you sure the meat wasn't already tainted or going bad? Just thinking out loud at possibilities. Also, Sconnyhunter brought up an excellent point about what was in their crop.

Their gullet was full of thistle leaves and seeds.

But, I am really asking a prep questions here. Grouse stink. We know that. It is possible to prepare them in a way that they don't taste like that stink. I failed at it. How is it done?

Just google Blue grouse Recipe . There are a few good ones. They say a Blue Grouse is just another name for a Dusky.

This one sounds good

http://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/ar...seshallots.htm

Where do I find grouse for hunting? I never hunt it before.