Forest McGrouse — panko grouse burger with wild mustard mayo
The burger you make after a day chasing small game.
Some nights you don't want a complicated plate. You come back from the bush, boots still muddy, Cooper and Artax sprawled by the stove, and all you can think about is a burger. But a burger that tastes like the day you just put in.
Grouse doesn't take well to a hot grill, it dries out in no time. The fix is buttermilk. Twenty-four hours in a bath of buttermilk, gin and juniper berries, with yarrow picked at the edge of a cutover, and the meat relaxes, tenders up, soaks in the resinous note of the country you hunt. The panko does the rest: a crust that shatters, juicy meat underneath.
You build it with a mayo sharpened with wild mustard and a drizzle of maple reduction cut with spruce-tip vinegar. Sweet, tart, resinous. It's the fast-food burger we'd have invented if the drive-thru opened onto a logging road.
Ingredients
Game
- Grouse breasts, trimmed, 1 per burger4
- Buttermilk1 cup
- Juniper berries10
- Boreal gin0.4 cup
- Yarrow1 tbsp
- Panko breadcrumbs1 cup
- Mayo4 tbsp
- Wild mustrard, Dijon is ok 1 tsp
- Maple syrup
- Spruce vinegar
- Bread and Butter Pickles
- hamburger bun
Steps
- 01Step placed here only to allow draft creation. François will fill in the full method directly in the Studio (gin-juniper-yarrow buttermilk marinade 24 h, panko crust, frying, burger assembly, wild mustard mayo, maple syrup–spruce vinegar reduction).
- 02The day before, make the marinade. In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, boreal gin, lightly crushed juniper berries and yarrow. Add the grouse breasts, cover, and let marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.
- 03The next day, lift the breasts from the marinade and drain them well. Dredge them in the panko, pressing so the crust grips every surface.
- 04Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a small saucepan, combine the maple syrup and spruce-tip vinegar. Bring to a gentle simmer and reduce over low heat until syrupy. Watch it closely, a maple reduction goes from perfect to scorched in seconds. Set aside.
- 05Stir the mayonnaise and wild mustard together until smooth. Set aside.
- 06Heat the frying oil to 350 °F (180 °C). Lower in the breaded breasts and fry until the crust is golden and crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes depending on thickness. Drain on paper towel.
- 07Build the burgers. Spread the mayo-mustard sauce on the bottom bun. Add a grouse breast, drizzle with the maple-spruce reduction, top with a few pickles. Close it up and serve right away.