Today’s recipe leans hard into the rugged setting of HATCHET–we’re roasting foolbirds over an open fire!
In HATCHET, “foolbird” is what Brian calls ruffed grouse, which are plentiful in his part of the forest and make up a good chunk of his diet once he learns to hunt with a bow. Since grouse are hard to come by in the grocery store, I went with Cornish hens, which are roughly the same size.
It took a while for us to have good enough weather for this recipe (I am SO sick of rain right now), but it was worth it. I got to sit out in the yard on a mild November morning, enjoying the solitude as I stoked the fire and turned the birds. I felt peaceful and engaged at the same time. Even though I’m not usually an outdoorsy person, I felt like I was getting a brief taste of what HATCHET’s author, Gary Paulsen, loved so much about the wilderness.
Plus, the hens turned out DELICIOUS–smokey and juicy, with crisp skin. I stuffed the cavities of the birds with fresh sage and oregano, which grow in the area of Canada where the book is based, and they gave the meat just a touch of aromatic herbiness. Of course, the birds were also flavored with the best seasoning of all: the satisfaction of having cooked it myself out in nature with just a few simple tools…and the help of my fire-smart, Eagle Scout husband. 😉
A
Fire Roasted Foolbird
“He was looking for one of the foolish birds- he called them foolbirds- and there was a flock that lived near the end of the long part of the lake.”
— Hatchet
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 Cornish hens (or ruffed grouse, if you can get it)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for the baking sheet
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 small bundles of fresh herbs (I used sage and oregano)
- kitchen string
Makes 2 Cornish hens
INSTRUCTIONS:
- I’m no outdoorsman, but my husband is an Eagle Scout so he built our fire. Here are his fire-building tips:
- Start with sticks of medium thickness, approx. 1 inch diameter. Build a “log cabin” (a hollow square of sticks). Build a “teepee” inside the cabin by gathering some sticks together into a triangle. Loosely pack the teepee with your more highly flammable materials (like very small sticks, pine needles, and paper/cardboard). He highly recommends cardboard fast food drink holders. Light the fire and feed as needed.
- That said, he stresses that he is not a fire-building expert and that everyone should educate themselves on fire safety before working with fire. Of course, keep adequate water nearby, never leave a fire unattended, and make safe choices.
- Once your fire is built, rub oil over the bird and under the skin, gently separating the skin from the meat with your fingers so that it doesn’t tear (this will help make the skin crispy). Repeat with the salt and pepper. Insert the herb bundles inside the birds’ cavities. If desired, truss the birds by crossing the ankles and wrapping the string around them in a figure eight, tying off the ends. Trussing helps keep the juices in but lengthens the cook time, so it’s up to you.
- Coat a 9″x13″ baking sheet with oil. Put the hens on the baking sheet breast-side-up and tuck the wings beneath the ribs. Place on a grate over the fire pit. If you don’t have a grate, you can make two small towers in the pit with stone/brick and bridge them with the baking sheet.
- This is where it gets hard to standardize. Lots of variables will effect the cook time of your birds (bird size, outdoor temp, fire temp, how often you stoke your fire, etc.). They’ll take about an hour, but check the internal temp of the breast and thigh at about 40 minutes (you want a final temp of 165°). Flip each bird every 10 minutes, recoating the pan as needed. The wings should fuse in place before the first flip, so you shouldn’t have to keep tucking them. If you’ve trussed the birds, coat the grate with oil about halfway through the cook time and place the birds sideways directly on the grate, cooking for 10 minutes on each side before returning to the pan. This helps extra heat get to the joint between the leg and thigh. Cook directly on the grate again for 10 minutes or so when you think the bird is close to being done.
- Cut the trusses and remove the herb bundles. Discard.
- Eat your fire roasted foolbird while enjoying the warmth of a crackling fire.
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