Cooking SMALL GAME

Game birds have always held a high place at the table, whether it’s a hunter’s prize of roast grouse or the annual Thanksgiving turkey. Pheasants, quail, rabbits, doves, grouse, and more are singular species with grand culinary traditions that offer cooks an unmatched range of flavors. Many cooks, however, fear the fowl. Lean and athletic, game birds, rabbits, and hares can dry out in a hurry. But you can learn to cook small game like a pro: perfectly crisp skin over tender breast meat, melt-in-your-mouth braises, barbecue, stews, and sausages.

Here are three recipes from my latest book, Pheasant, Quail, Cottontail, which covers a range of small game animals, including rabbits, hares, and squirrels.

Pheasant Noodle Soup

Pheasant soup is satisfying to body and soul, a tonic for your down days or those days when the icy chill of the world has cut a bit too deep. My recipe is hardwired in me, a soup I’ve enjoyed virtually unchanged since I can remember. I make it without conscious thought. Roast the carcasses of the pheasants with a little oil and salt. Make a broth from them. Pick off the meat, strain the broth, and add new vegetables, a little wine, and the obligatory egg noodles. In my world, chicken noodle soup always has egg