If only it were that easy.
It’s bird season, finally, though I’ve only been out once and that was more a walk than hunting. If only my employer allowed me to quit my job in November so my setter Jade and I could chase pheasant and quail full time until Thanksgiving, then be rehired Dec. 1 with my health insurance intact. Come New Year’s my dream position would then dismiss me for a month of chasing quail in the Southwest, with a return set for Feb. 1.
Another break would obviously coincide with the start of the skwala hatch on the Bitterroot.
There is such a professional opportunity. It’s called winning the lottery. I’m told I’ve a much better chance of being hit by lightning, multiple times, but that sounds less fun.
Good news. I’m slated for a pheasant sojourn Sunday, so long as I get caught up on things Saturday. For prep, I watched Hank Shaw’s YouTube video on how to properly pluck a pheasant. He does this far more efficiently than I, though he recommends hanging the bird in a cool place for a couple of days before de-feathering. The bird’s skin does ease its hold on the quill with time, but I haven’t yet got my brain around the idea that bird flesh benefits from aging.
Give me a dry-aged steak and we’re talking, but aged wild chicken? That feels like a bad idea.
I otherwise have confidence in Shaw’s advice when it comes to wild game meat, of all types. I subscribe to his Hunt-Gather-Cook e-newsletter and I was a happy boy when it popped up this morning.
The plucking video is worth watching, even when you remind yourself you can’t pull feathers quite so aggressively with a fresh bird. Still, his technique of quick, darting plucks of a feather or two at a time has improved the condition of my naked birds, though they never look as good as Shaw’s.
To make up some of the difference, I try to promptly pluck my quail in the field while the birds are still warm. Cooled birds won’t pluck as easily. Roosters, on the other hand, I always tackle at home. I use Shaw’s less-preferred wet-plucking method for de-feathering pheasants. In the past, I’ve recommended his fine book, “Pheasant, Quail, Cottontail,” which dives into the handling and cooking of upland birds. The book goes into detail regarding these techniques — including wet plucking — and comes with the bonus of hundreds of recipes for small game.
You can also chase down much of this information at huntgathercook.com, but selling cookbooks is how the guy makes a living, so consider that if you make ample use of the website.
I’m not opposed to skinning. If you’ve hit a bird hard, especially small quail or partridges, there’s often no point in plucking. Skin it and salvage the meat that isn’t shot up. The stuff that is trashed by shot I set aside for my setter Jade, who earns her fair share, and the cat, who does nothing to earn hers but makes life miserable for everyone around her when she doesn’t get her way.
However you de-feather, save the carcasses for stock, though I recommend rinsing them thoroughly to remove any bloody or bruised bits. You’ll be rewarded with a cleaner, more delicately flavored broth.
I think I’ll chunk up the first bird I hit a little too hard for some orange chicken. Shaw has a recipe for that, too.
Finally, I need to consider my dog’s interests in order to justify time in the field despite work piling up and much of my stuff in my new place remaining unpacked.
Jade is getting antsy. She had one hot and dry opening day hunt, but her activity has been otherwise restricted by my obligations, and she knows what season it is.
We’ll fix that Sunday. She insists.