Not something you find at the supermarket ...
The Woodcock is hunted.
You must have special hunter friends - like my friend Romeo who doesn't like its taste - and they must be lucky enough to take it.
The Italian Name, Beccaccia, is due to the length of the beak (becco).
The Woodcock is considered one of the most delicius and evaluable hunted birds.
The lovers of it cook its organ and their bowels still full of...... poop.
The work is long and labour intensive. Even if the purists say that everything of the woodcock must be eaten, al least the feathers must be pulled off....
Once eliminated the last part of the rectum, all the other viscera - liver, hearth, stomach, langs - must be finely chopped.
Honestly i didn't save the poop.... the purist amateurs of this delicacy have the permission to blame me.
I minced a couple of sage leaves....
..a small apple,....
....two fillets of salty anchovies. Put all the minced ingredients in a pan with a little butter.
Cook until nice and brown.
Meanwhile wrap the cleaned bird with Pancetta or Guanciale ( I had homemade Guanciale - Pork cheeck), season it inside with salt, pepper and sage. Put it in the oven at 180° c - 350 F, for about 20 minutes. Check the cooking point and be aware it is well done.
Let it cool down, then bone it, or better, take the meat off.
Put the meat in a mixer and add it to the pan.
Stir it well and cook a few minutes to mingle all the ingredients.
Notice the absence of garlic and onion.
Notice the absence of garlic and onion.
Drench with a little glass of Vin Santo, sweet wine from Tuscany, and let it evaporate.
Make the "sauce" softer and more running adding hot broth.
Grill thin slices of bread and spread the Sauce of Woodcock upon.
A glass of Brunello or Nobile would complete this fabolous appetizer.
Comments
Post a Comment