Properly Processing a Grouse... How?
 

Hello,

I just shot my first grouse today! I cleaned them and all of that, after bleeding them. Now, I am not sure what to do with them!

Would it be bad to soak them in cold water? Also, take a look at the picture below... the hind area of the torso is kind of yellowed and feels a little stiffer then the rest of the muscle. This was how it looked when I pulled the feathers off. Is that a bad sign of illness or anything? Unfortunately, my friend who normally hunts with me was unable to go today, otherwise I'd ask him.

Also, does anyone have some good recipes for Grouse?

After doing a little searching... I got my answer... already what I thought to do. The meat is sitting in salty, cold water and has been for a while now.

But my other question has not been answered yet: Does the grouse in the photo (above) appear to be diseased? Or is that normal?

Looks like you did just fine.

Sorry have been out grousing on my own for a month and have no puter connections at camp ~ as of yet!

I breast grouse and wood**** by pealing the skin back and taking a shears an cutting the wing joints and neck to end up like your picture.
I soak mine over night in clean water in a fridge and then freeze.

I have a great recipe and will fo look for it and post it here for you.

JW

The meat looks just fine!

JW

Thanks for the info! Not sure I want to eat the yellowed meat... it is pretty tough. Also, it is on the same side that the leg pulled off before the rest of the body came apart, when I was cleaning it. Probably just an injury then?

Its sitting in my freezer right now! If it stops raining, I will go out and get a couple more now that I know I am able to do things smoothly and correctly. I didn't want to waist anything by not knowing what I was doing, so I figured I'd stop at two.

I might just cut the meat up in slices and fry it or something. Not sure yet. I'll keep an eye out for your recipe.

Thanks for the reply! Have fun hunting!

Congrats on your first grouse. You got a good piece of meat there and it would be a shame to waste it. It looks to me(in the pic) like it is either just a bit of fat or maybe a bit of bloodshot skin from the pellet hits. Harmless.
Best and quickest way for a newb to cook a grouse is to do a stir fry with thinly sliced grouse breast and a few thinly sliced veg over a med/high heat. Keep it simple.
I`m pretty sure ole JW will agree with me.

Ron:D

Awesome... good to know some techniques. A guy at work said to put a couple breasts in a slow cooker with some cream of mushroom and wild rice.

I like the stir fry sound better. Thanks for the info on the oddly colored meat. I plan on going out again on Sunday... before the grouse get too scared by the deer hunters.