THE BIRDS : Fowl Play...

We’re midway through the feasting season. We’ve passed the Turkey Threshold--Thanksgiving. And now it’s bird-eating time.

The idea of serving fowl at a feast goes back at least as far as the Middle Ages. A boar’s head was well and good, but the 13th Century could not imagine a real party without something that came wrapped in feathers. Certain birds were reserved for the nobility alone, and perhaps just as well--there was a fashion for eating heron and crane, whose passing no one laments. (Nor do many people today long to eat peacock, which was both a privilege and an ordeal reserved for royalty.)

Birds still add variety to our largely mammal-based diet. There’s turkey and chicken, of course, and specially raised kinds of chicken such as capon and Poussin. For years duck and quail have been fashionable in the sharpest eating circles.

But where’s the rich, dark meat of the goose? The gamey savor of the pheasant and that particularly Christmassy bird the partridge? Who speaks for the squab?

We do. Read on.

Celestino Drago of Celestino Ristorante prepares this dish during the holiday season when figs and game fowl are plentiful. Most small game birds may be prepared in this manner.

CELESTINO’S PARTRIDGE WITH FIGS

4 partridges

Salt, pepper

Oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon water

4 large black Mission figs

3 tablespoons butter

Salt

Radicchio leaves

Wine Sauce

Rinse partridges and pat dry. Reserve neck bones and livers for sauce. Season birds to taste inside and out with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet. Cook partridges until browned on all sides. Place in baking pan and roast at 400 degrees 20 minutes, turning to cook evenly.

Combine honey and water. Brush partridges with honey mixture and continue baking 20 minutes longer or until partridges are tender.

Slice figs. Dice 2 tablespoons butter. Place figs in another baking pan. Top with butter bits and sprinkle with salt. Place under broiler and broil until figs are browned around edges. Set aside.

When ready to serve, saute radicchio leaves in remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Line 4 plates with radicchio and spoon Wine Sauce around plate. Place 1 partridge over radicchio on each plate. Garnish with broiled fig slices. Makes 4 servings.

Wine Sauce

1/4 cup butter

2 tablespoons chopped shallots

Reserved bones and livers from 4 partridges

1 (750-ml) bottle Barbaresco wine

2 bay leaves

Salt, pepper

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in saucepan over medium heat. Saute shallots until tender. Add bones and livers and saute. Add wine and bay leaves and simmer until reduced by 1/3. Strain. Discard bones and reserve liver.

Blend 1 cup wine mixture with liver in blender until smooth. Add to remaining wine mixture and heat through. Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter and swirl until melted to nap sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

A prized dish of the ancient Persian cuisine makes use of pomegranates--which are always available during the holiday season.

PHEASANT GRENADINE

(Fesenjan)

2 (2-pound) whole pheasants

1/4 cup butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup pomegranate juice, grenadine syrup or pomegranate molasses

2 cups ground walnuts (about 10 ounces)

1 tablespoon sugar

Salt, pepper

Pomegranate seeds

Walnut halves

Rinse pheasants thoroughly and pat dry. Remove any excess fat. Cut in quarters or truss and leave whole. Melt butter in large skillet or Dutch oven. Add onion and saute until tender. Add pheasant pieces (or if using whole, cook 1 at time). Cook birds about 10 minutes, or until browned on all sides. Remove from skillet.

Add broth and lemon juice to skillet. Stir in pomegranate juice, ground walnuts and sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return pheasants to skillet and bring broth to boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer over low heat 1 hour or until pheasants are tender.

Place pheasants on platter and spoon sauce over. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and walnut halves. Makes 4 servings.

Note: Grenadine syrup or pomegranate molasses may be purchased at Middle Eastern grocery stores.

Toribio Prado, owner of Cha Cha Cha, serves this turkey dish with rice and black beans (Moors and Christians), and fried plantains.

CHA CHA CHA TURKEY MOJITO WITH PAPAYA AND OREGANO

1/2 free-range turkey breast

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 teaspoon freshly ground mixed red, green and black peppercorns

3 tablespoons olive oil

2/3 cup chicken or turkey stock

Turkey drippings, optional

6 ounces green papaya, peeled, seeded and cubed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

6 ounces ripe papaya, peeled, seeded and cubed

Oregano sprigs

Rub turkey breast with 1 tablespoon garlic, 2 teaspoons oregano and ground peppercorns. Place in baking dish and roast at 350 degrees until meat thermometer registers 170 degrees, about 1 hour.

Saute remaining 1 tablespoon garlic in olive oil in skillet until golden. Add stock and any drippings from turkey, green papaya cubes, cumin and remaining 1 teaspoon oregano. Cook until liquid is reduced by 1/3 or sauce is dark and thickened. Strain, if smooth sauce is desired.

Carve turkey breast into 1/2-inch thick slices and overlap on platter or plates, allowing 2 slices per serving. Garnish plate with ripe papaya cubes. Pour sauce over slices and papaya cubes. Decorate with oregano sprigs. Makes 4 servings.

Ella Brennan of the famous Brennan’s in New Orleans created this dish. It was published recently in “The James Beard Celebration Cookbook” (William Morrow and Company, 1990: $24.95) by the James Beard Foundation, edited by Barbara Kafka.

DUCK AND WILD MUSHROOM GUMBO

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon granulated garlic

2 teaspoons paprika

Cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 (5-pound) whole duck, trimmed of all excess fat

1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium onion, quartered

1/2 head garlic, cloves separated

1/2 bunch parsley

2 quarts cold water

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup flour

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium green pepper, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

3 cloves garlic, mashed and minced

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 ounces assorted fresh wild mushrooms, trimmed and roughly chopped

Combine 1 tablespoon salt, granulated garlic, paprika, 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper and black pepper. Rub mixture over entire surface of duck. Place duck in roasting pan and roast at 375 degrees 1 hour.

Remove duck from oven and allow to stand about 10 minutes. Remove skin and all meat from duck. Reserve meat.

Place duck bones in stockpot with 1-inch celery pieces, quartered onion, separated garlic cloves, parsley and cold water. Cover and bring to boil over high heat. Uncover, reduce heat to moderate and simmer 40 minutes or until stock is reduced by about 1/3.

Strain stock and reserve. Discard bones and vegetables.

Heat oil in stockpot over moderate heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, few minutes until mixture becomes deep brown color. Stir in diced onion, green pepper, diced celery and minced garlic. Cook until vegetables are tender.

Gradually add reserved stock, whisking mixture until smooth after each addition. Stir in remaining 1 teaspoon salt, black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 30 minutes.

Add mushrooms and reserved duck meat and cook 10 minutes longer. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

This year at Thanksgiving, Alice Waters of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse restaurant, decided to put more than just a turkey on her table. Along with the traditional bird (cooked on a spit in her wood-burning oven), Waters served both pheasant and goose as well. “I started to make goose confit ,” she says, “but after I had salted the meat, I decided to just make confit of the legs and do something different with the breast.” The result was this incredibly delicious, entirely new take on goose . If you think of goose as a greasy bird, these slices of rare, tender, tasty meat will be a revelation.

ALICE WATERS’ GOOSE BREAST

1 (10- to 12-pound) whole goose

3/4 cup kosher salt

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 bay leaf

Remove whole legs (drumsticks and thighs) from goose and reserve for confit or other use. Cut breast in half and remove backbone. Reserve goose tenderloin for future use.

Combine kosher salt, thyme and bay leaf. Pick up each breast half, hold over bowl and sprinkle liberally with salt mixture on all sides. Place goose pieces on rack in baking pan and refrigerate 24 hours.

Remove goose from refrigerator, rinse and pat dry. Bone breast. Score fat with 4 horizontal and 3 vertical lines.

Tie 2 breast halves together, thin side to fat side and fat side to thin side. Tie at 1-inch intervals to form roast.

Brown roast quickly but well on all sides in cast iron pan, rendering off all fat. Siphon off fat as goose browns.

Roast goose at 375 degrees 15 to 20 minutes, depending on size of goose. Interior will be very rare (145 to 150 degrees) when removed. Allow to stand 15 minutes in warm spot and goose will continue to cook.

Note: Do not cook goose until interior is desired degree of doneness or exterior will be overcooked. Fat siphoned off during browning may be reserved for making confit or for frying potatoes.

GOOSE LEG CONFIT

2 goose legs

Salt

Goose fat

Lard

Sprinkle goose legs with salt and place in glass baking dish. Refrigerate 24 hours.

Melt small amount goose fat and lard in flame-proof casserole. Add goose legs and cook over low heat 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Transfer to earthenware pot and cover with cooking fat. Refrigerate.

Note: Use in cassoulet recipes.

NUTRIENT ANALYSIS FOR BIRDS

Calories Total Fat Saturated Fat Type of Bird (Grams) (Grams) Chicken, dark meat, roasted, without skin (3 ounces) 205 9.73 2.66 Chicken, light meat, roast- ed, without skin (3 ounces) 173 4.51 1.27 Chicken, breast, roasted (1/2 breast) 7 10 8 Capon, roasted, without skin (3 ounces) 226 11.67 3.28 Duck, roasted, without skin (1/2 duck) 445 24.75 9.22 Turkey, roasted, dark meat, without Skin (3 ounces) 187 7.22 2.42 Turkey, roasted, light meat, without skin (3 ounces) 157 3.22 1.03 Goose, roasted, without skin (3 ounces) 238 12.67 4.56 Guinea, raw, without skin (3 ounces) 110 2.47 0 Pheasant, raw, light meat (3 ounces) 133 3.64 1.24 Pheasant, raw, dark meat (3 ounces) 134 4.30 1.46 Quail, raw, light meat (3 ounces) 123 2.99 .87 Squab, raw, without skin (1 squab) 239 12.60 3.29 Squab, raw, light meat (1 breast) 135 4.57 1.19

Cholesterol Type of Bird (Milligrams) Chicken, dark meat, roasted, without skin (3 ounces) 93 Chicken, light meat, roast- ed, without skin (3 ounces) 85 Chicken, breast, roasted (1/2 breast) 10 Capon, roasted, without skin (3 ounces) 103 Duck, roasted, without skin (1/2 duck) 198 Turkey, roasted, dark meat, without Skin (3 ounces) 85 Turkey, roasted, light meat, without skin (3 ounces) 69 Goose, roasted, without skin (3 ounces) 96 Guinea, raw, without skin (3 ounces) 63 Pheasant, raw, light meat (3 ounces) 0 Pheasant, raw, dark meat (3 ounces) 0 Quail, raw, light meat (3 ounces) 0 Squab, raw, without skin (1 squab) 0 Squab, raw, light meat (1 breast) 91

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook 8.