Grouse Cleaning

northwoodslivin

northwoodslivin

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Hey folks.

This will be my first time hunting and I am pretty excited.

My question to you seasoned grouse hunters is. When you down a grouse. How do you go about cleaning it. I heard it is simple. put the bird on it's back. step on it's wing's and give their leg's a yank, and what is left on the ground is the breasts attached to the wing's.
Is this true? or is there a better way of doing it.
Thank you for your advice in advance!
 
Yup, that's true. It's pretty easy, unless you break a wing when you shoot it.

Some guys like to pluck the bird and cook it whole, but I find it too much hassle for such a small bird.

Have fun and good luck.

:D
 
That's right. Step on the wings and pull on the legs slow and firm. This should pull out the entrails. What's on the ground is the wings and breast. Cut the wings off. Put your thumb under the breast and pull up. You will be left with the whole breast.
 
I do the above extraction method, and then cut the breast bone out with poultry shears leaving the breast attached so I can stuff half an Apple under the rib cage, and then wrap the whole shebang in Bacon, and special seasoning for a nice broiler treat. :D :dancingbanana:
 
The Zipper Treatment (that's what my friends call the stand on wings and pull legs thing) works best while the bird is still warm. Once it cools off, it doesn't seem to work as well. I usually do the Zipper right after I shoot them, and pack the breasts in my fanny pack. I leave the wings on just in case I get stopped by a fish cop on the way back to camp, and I need to identify my kill.

BB
 
Thanks so much for your advice guy's! "especially the slow and firm pull"
Yes, I plan on leaving the wing's on until I return home. MNR is all over the place where I come from.
Thank you again everyone!
 
Good luck on the hunt. Guy I work with just got back from a wedding in Thunder Bay and they did a bit of scouting while out there (they'll be back that way hunting in a month). Said the grouse numbers out that way were excellent this year due to the dry year. Said a lot of the hens were having double broods this year and the chick mortality rate was very low. Should be good shooting.
 
Oh yes of course!

I plain on doing just that, and putting the breasts with the wing's still attached in my sack and carry on for the next one. Don't want to be luging a bunch of bird's around with me ;)
Thank you for pointing that out though. :)
 
I just pull the feather off to the opposite direction. It's really easy and will keep the bird intact. Then I gut it and keep the heart for the soup. But the smell is worse than that of a deer to me. :)
 
I like to save the leg meat - there's not a lot, but what's there is still tasty. I normally strip the guts out right after I shoot one, then when I get home, I just peel the skin off. Cut the breasts, wings and thighs off with a pair of shears, bag it, freeze it, and you don't miss any meat. Sometimes I save the backs for soup.

Sometimes I'll pluck one or two for roasting, the skin adds a lot of flavour.
 
Don't forget, before you do the step on the wings and pull the legs trick, it is best to remove the head. With the head still attached, it doesen't work nearly as well. Also a very good idea to leave the wings on, so a CO can identify the bird. Good luck and good eating. BTW, Ruffed Grouse tastes better than the Spruce Graouse
 
Deano said:
Don't forget, before you do the step on the wings and pull the legs trick, it is best to remove the head. With the head still attached, it doesen't work nearly as well. Also a very good idea to leave the wings on, so a CO can identify the bird. Good luck and good eating. BTW, Ruffed Grouse tastes better than the Spruce Graouse
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I never knew that. We always just do it with the head attached and it seems to work okay. Half the time there isn't much head left anyways after the .410 has had it's way with him ;) .

My old dirty socks taste better than a spruce hen <insert Pukey here>. The only time a spruce hen ever tasted decent to me was after a day soaking in milk and another day marinating - then we used it in a spicey sauce and it pretty much masked the flavour. Ruffed are really tasty, as are Sharpies. Never tried blue but hear they are good as well.
 
They're easy to clean. Another way to get the breasts is to lay them on their back, and grab the centre of the chest in the middle (where the breast bone is) with both hands. Pull the skin staright out (to the sides). (it's very thin and tears easily) Once you've pulled the skin off, take your trusty hunting knife and cut out the breasts. If done right, it takes less than a couple minutes and you won't even get blood on your hands.
 
Grab the grouse by breast in one hand, then with your other hand grab around the neck and insert thumb into neck top of breast "V". Peel neck back and down away from breast, remove wings. This method is far better and faster than the step on the wings method and never fails.
 
That's the best way to do a Grouse, for sure, just one caution, don't cut both wings off if you are required that some method of identification be left on the grouse until it is taken to the place of consumption. Here in BC the CO's take a dim view of grouse breasts in your posession without a wing attached. Regards, Eagleye.
 
Thank's guy's.

I am aware of leaving one wing on. I am also sure you have to keep a wing on if storing in the freezer for later consumption correct, eather way I was going to do that any way.

Yes, I have heard that spruce grouse taste like.. well. spruce? that's what my CFC instructer said. Their pretty bird's but I won't be hunting them. But if I happen to come across one in my hunt, I will likely take it just to say I tried it once.

Also bunnies are in season here. Never had rabbit before eather. I heard that the hares taste like poo poo and the cotton tails are a far better tasting bunny. Is this correct? Don't mean to drift off my topic here. Just thought I would throw that in.

Thank you fella's for your advice!
 
If you might be huntin' bunnies too, here's a slick trick to gut them without a knife. This originally came from an OLD farmers almanac:

Hold the rabbit head up and wrap both hands around the chest just under the front legs squeezing tightly with thumbs and forefingers.

Slowly work your hands down the ribcage squeezing tightly until your hands slip over the bottom of the ribs.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and bend your knees slightly. Still squeezing, raise rabbit over your head and swing down sharply striking your forearms on your thighs. Entrails will fly 'out the in door' onto the ground!:eek: :)

I laughed when I first heard about it, and had to try it myself. It works like a hot d@mn!

Happy Huntin!:D
 
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