Best tasting game bird in the world?

[FirstFreedom]

Quail, pheasant, turkey, partridge, chukkar, prairie chicken, ptarmigan, sandhill crane, what? I've heard sandhill crane, among species in this state...

[fisherman66]

I'll vote fer Ben Franklins bird...turkey, fried please. Dove as a long distance 2nd.

[roy reali]

Spotted Owl.:D

[DonR101395]

pheasant

[RedneckFur]

Crow and Seagull :D

[fisherman66]

RNFur, you eat a lot of crow?

[tronman]

Not sure what they call 'em, but them great big blackish brown birds with the white heads is downright tasty!

Made the mistake of saying something to that effect at the game wardens office one day registering my boat...those fella's have no sense of humor.

[Lavid2002]

Pheasant : D Mmmm

[WeedWacker]

I'd go with pheasant or dove. I think it all depends on how you cook it. THe smaller birds can be tossed in a crock pot whole and slow cooked with whatever you want to baste them in.


Not sure what they call 'em, but them great big blackish brown birds with the white heads is downright tasty!

Made the mistake of saying something to that effect at the game wardens office one day registering my boat...those fella's have no sense of humor.

"The local game warden for Lake Wabasha had heard that Ole was shooting loons. Now, the loon being the state bird of Minnesota that was quite the no-no for people. SO the warden drives up to oles cabin and knockes on the door. Ole answers and says,"Can I help yöu, Mr. Vorden?"
"Yes, Ole, I heard you have been shooting loons. Would you mind if I came in and looked around?"
"Oh ya sure ya beytchya. Come in come in."
The warden walks in looks around at all the animals mounted on the walls and walks to the kitchen. He goes up to the refridgerator and opens up the door. Sure enough, there are over a half dozen dead loons in baggies.
"I'm sorry, Ole, but I gotta take you in."
He gets the cuffs on Ole and puts him in the back of the car and starts driving back to town. As they drive along, to make small talk, he asks,"Ole, I'm kinda curious. Now this is completely off the record. I kinda wonder what loon tastes like." Ole thinks, and he thinks. After about five minutes ole responds in an affirmative tone,"It tastes alot like Igle."

[Mannlicher]

I have only killed and eaten the ones in FL, GA, SC and VA. I like quail best.

[stuckon308]

I happen to be partial to partridge. Mmmmmmmmm. Some of the best memories are frying up partridge with my dad for the rest of the family.

[wolverine350]

Quail is excellent, and Pheasant

[HuntCast]

Partridge (Ruffed Grouse) when cooked properly, is like heaven!

[Smokey Joe]

I think it all depends on how you cook it.Weedwhacker is on to something here. Frankly, I never et a gamebird I didn't like. But I'm related to a bunch of good cooks, and am considered somewhat better than awful myself in that dept.

My mother roasted mourning doves. She also cooked my ducks with an orange sauce made from a Remington recipie book--we called it ammunition sauce. Oh, yum.

My #1 Son loved the way his gramma (my MIL) cooked barn pigeons--he called them "flying meals." (Now he's off on his own, and Gramma has long since quit farming.)

My wife makes an elegant roast Canada goose, and also has a recipie for goose soup that is XLNT for old tough birds.

And I once won a bet, producing garlic fried coot breasts with bacon in 10 min. from cleaned to plate. Part of the bet was they had to be great to eat.

But my favorite?? Awfully hard to say. I guess like a lot of things, my favorite is the one I'm eating RIGHT NOW.

[FirstFreedom]

Ruffed Grouse is one and the same as Partridge?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruffed_Grouse

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partridge

By the way, best I've ever tasted (so far) personally was quail.

[HuntCast]

Ruffed Grouse have been called Partridge since the first European saw one in North America.
I know they aren't, but ya can't change that much tradition.

[Stiofan]

A nice pheasant for Thanksgiving (for two) is a nice meal and is hard to beat, but I'm partial to wild duck or goose as well. Hmmm, I like dove and quail too. And chuker.

[skeeter1]

My wife makes an elegant roast Canada goose, and also has a recipie for goose soup that is XLNT for old tough birds.


It always amazes me how many people tend to turn up their noses about eating Canada Geese. AFAIC, when roasted well, they're delicious, and much better than farm-raised geese. Not nearly as greasy, and all dark meat. Besides, they're fun to hunt. The only hard part is that each goose has enough feathers to fill up a large-size trash bag.

[Huntzalittle]

Put me down for Ruffed Grouse, delicious!
I quit hunting geese and ducks 'cause I couldn't stand the way the wife cooks them. Fun to hunt on our farm and we got a lot of them. Just couldn't aquire the taste for them:)

[srtrax]

QUAIL

or the WIKI :eek: :D :) :p :rolleyes: ;)

[fisherman66]

Wiki taste worse than musky boar pelt. Now, the wika (lady version) ain't all that bad as long as she ain't in season.

Quail is gud, but there's so little reward for messin' with all dem bones (especially if the were broken by shot).

[jhgreasemonkey]

Toss up between grouse and turkey for me. Both please!

[ConcealCarryNY]

Ptarmagin. Little butter, salt and pepper in a cast iron skillet. Simple and best damn breakfast going.

[robc]

Ruffed grouse. I also love the strong, sort of livery flavor of spruce grouse.

Worst for me was turkey. I've only had wild turkey once, but it was like shoe leather.

[Fat White Boy]

Quail, Chukar, Hungarian Partrige, Pheasant- I guess all the gallinules. Dove is good if it's cooked right. Duck, goose- all are good with proper preparation...

[OuTcAsT]

definately Quail, I could eat it till I burst!!! MMMMMM!

[Clayfish]

I would have to go with fried turkey followed closely with quail.

[oldbillthundercheif]

Pheasant, but a perfectly cooked duck would probably run a close second.

Quail and grouse are high on the list as well.

[Gbro]

My car pool'er just came back from turkey hunting (Wisc) and they never saved the legs. I told him i would take them and we had turkey last night.
All day in a crock w/mushroom &Lipton onion soup, over rice.
It saw wonderful. I have some in my lunch for work today and a dish for the hunter also. (with promise i still get the legs again).

I do a tyreaki Goose on the rotisserie at Deer camp and its always a favorite.
Not so 30 years ago as the Geese back then were to strong(taste) to enjoy.

[Scorch]

I've read that the bustard is supposedly the best tasting (big quail-like bird in Europe and Asia), but since they don't make 'em here, I'll go along with pheasant as the best. Or goose. Or quail. I don't really care which, just lemme at 'em.

[FirstFreedom]

Wondering if those Aussies eat the cassowary..? Looks like a down under turkey with a dinosaur fin on top.

[mrawesome22]

Dove! My Dad makes a mean deep fried wild turkey that comes in a VERY close second though.

[AZGunLover]

I love Dove!

[Leafs]

partridge and turr, my dad hunted them

[castnblast]

:rolleyes: BUZZARD!!!My Favorite...

Seriously, Mine are pheasant, quail, and turkey, in no particular order. doves aren't bad either.

Here's my favorite Duck recipe:

1. Skin duck completely, and pound out the breast.

2. Marinade over night in 1/2 cup soy, 1/2 cup cooking wine 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and 1 clove crushed garlic.

3. get some 1/4 inch tacks and a nice cedar plank...must be red cedar.

4. Place in smoker at 200 degrees, and slowly smoke for 3 hours, basting every 1/2 hour w/ remaining mixture.

5. carefully remove the duck from the plank, feed it to your dog, and eat the board.:D :D :D

Seriously, try that recipe w/ turkey. It's tasty, but you don't need to cook it that long. about an hour and a half will do it, and no, you don't need a cedar plank...

[RedneckFur]

I've not had many game birds, but I can say with all honesty that grilled quail and dove are very good.

Personally, i hate ducks too much to even eat one. I dont want one of those foul (fowl?) creatures inside of my body.

[kcshooter]

KFC Extra Crispy

[Huntergirl]

Pheasant and Ruffed grouse, my favorites.

[FirstFreedom]

castnblast - ha ha on the duck recipe...

Seriously though, I'm dying to try that with a turkey breast as you suggest! Sounds outstanding.

KFC? Somebody get a rope. :p

[castnblast]

First Freedom, try it on venison too...Very yummy. For an added kick, try crushing some fresh ginger. Adjust the brown sugar to desired taste, and add a crack of fresh ground black pepper. Slice the Turkey Breast in 1/8th inch strips and cook over hot coals. Baste w/ olive oil. MMMMMMM GOOD...Finger lick'n good...AIN'T NO KFC!!!:D

[keita]

http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/news/images/20060517-dodo_side_profile.jpg

[chris in va]

Speaking of extinct birds...

You have to wonder something. Dinosaurs were very similar in construction to today's birds...so were they tasty?

[WeedWacker]

People say they were similar but in all realit a "true" dinosaur was very different. Physiologically they had completly different metabolisms, homeostatic mechanisms, and biological pathways. Anatomically there were similarities between them but as for simple things like hollow bones or just being warm blooded, they were completely different from eachother. Eh it's just as well. Probably tough and stringy. Would made good jerky though. Although I have had experience with gator jerky. Not the best stuff int he world so maybe dino jerky is a bad idea. :barf: :p

[Kreyzhorse]

I gotta go with turkey. I've had dove and quail, but the turkey that was bagged this spring was tasty. Alive then fried in under two hours. Outstanding.

[Smokey Joe]

Keita--What shotgun loads would you use for the dodo? Wouldn't want to tangle with a downed, wounded one--that beak looks wicked! And how prepared--BBQ, stewed, roasted, what?

[zeisloft]

I can not believe there have been no votes for the ribeye of the sky! My vote goes to sand hill crane. I have quail, dove, duck, geese, turkey, and even a phesant or two in the freezer, but the sand hills never make it that far.
~z

[Glenn Bartley]

Pigeon!

[fisherman66]

How do you prepare pigeon?

[sm]

Respect the Quail - Ruark

[FirstFreedom]

"Mmmm... Dodo with solient green...." [/H. Simpson] :)

[intruder]

Ruffed Grouse Pa state bird

[Caimlas]

Honestly, birds all taste almost the same to me, with the exception of the big ones (only big one I've ever had is turkey). Dark bird meat is dark; light bird meat is light. That's about the extent of it - it just depends on how they're cooked. As a general rule, I don't care for bird meat. But if it's cooked right (fried :P), it's good.

[revjen45]

Depends on the skill of the preparation and unknown variables. Ruffed grouse is supposed to be top of the line and my wife is most skilled in the culinary arts. However when we brought home some grouse and she prepared it cacciatore (hunter style) it was too ugly to eat. Her brother brought in a venison roast one night (the statute of limitations has expired-it was "harvested" after the bar closed) and it stunk up the house so bad we had to open the windows. The dog wouldn't eat it. Seems like game critters are exempt from quality control.

[springmom]

...is the one somebody else plucks and cooks :D

Springmom, who likes to cook but is not into plucking

[Shoestring]

Hard to beat dove rolls.

Breast meat, bacon, Jalapeños and a little honey.;)

[MeekAndMild]

Best is Indian jungle fowl. It tastes just like chicken. :D

[phil mcwilliam]

Another vote for quail. I've had Emu on a couple of occassions & didn't like it.I have heard people rave about swan, but I've never tasted it.

[Sidetracked]

Dove is quite tasty, but I haven't had any in 20+ years.

My personal favorite... Blue Grouse (Pine Chicken).

[JWT]

Spotted owl...